Two Harts DISCONTINUED
by lady-harker
Summary: A strange attack near a local pub leaves one survivor. When Torchwood investigates it turns out to be someone Gwen and Ianto met while Jack was gone. But it seems whatever happened isn't done with the survivor yet. Then things just keep getting worse.
1. Late Night Out

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's note: **I love Torchwood and have been desperate to do one. Then along came Captain John and I couldn't put it off anymore. Here's one that's been in the pipeline for about an hour. Please read and review.

**Set: **After the end of Torchwood and Doctor Who, Martha and Mickey have replaced Tosh and Owen. Mainly about Captain John Hart but will have some Torchwood.

**Two Harts**

**Chapter One: Late Night Out**

Gary "Gazz" Jenkins knocked at the door and waited. After a couple of minutes a girl answered the door.

"Hey Jenny." Gary said nervously. He shifted from foot to foot.

"Hey Gazz." Jenny replied. They stood there in silence until Jenny reluctantly said, "Do you want to come in?"

"What? Oh. No. Um…I was going…I mean we…I mean Henry and me were going to go downtown and have a drink or two at the pub and, um…" he stumbled over his words as he spoke. Then a car horn came from the road.

"Is that Henry?" Jenny asked. Gazz swivelled to see his mate Henry signing to him to get a move on.

"Um…I was wondering if…you know." He turned back to Jenny.

"If I'd like to come with you?" Gazz nodded eagerly. Jenny sighed. "Yeah, why not?" she disappeared for a second and reappeared with a coat. "It's not like I'm doing anything important." She came out the door and walked towards the car. "But you're buying me a drink. I'm skint."

"Wait!" Yelled Gazz. Jenny rolled her eyes and turned.

"What?"

"Aren't you gonna lock your door?"

"Why?"

"There's thieves around here. I don't want you to come home to an empty house."

"You lock it then if you're so worried." She tossed him her keys. "But the chances that you're worried about me having nothing rather than you being worried somebody will steal my telly that you got me are slim to none."

"Come on, Gazz!" yelled Henry from the car as Jenny got closer. She climbed into the back of the mint green Nissan Micra. "Y'alright Jen?"

"Yeah." She said with no enthusiasm. "I'm fine."

* * *

At the pub they met up with Linda, Henry's girlfriend and Jenny's best mate.

"Heya sweetie." Henry cooed as Linda sat down next to him. He kissed her on the cheek and she turned so they could have a full-on kiss.

Gazz stared at Jenny. He loved her and didn't know how to tell her. He was desperate to get closer to her but every since he'd known her she'd been cynical and spiteful about anything and everything. Especially relationships.

Linda stopped snogging Henry and said, "I need a piss." She stood up. "Coming Jenny?" Jenny didn't move. "Jenny?"

"Hm?" she said snapping out of it. "Yeah."

"Well what shall we get you two to drink then?"

"A barcadi and coke for me please." Said Linda picking up her bag.

"Rum. Large." Said Jenny. "Thanks."

* * *

Linda peered at her face in the mirror and carefully applied more lipstick.

"Gazz likes you, you know." She said in Jenny's direction, who was leant against the wall next to the broken hand-drier.

"Really?" she said as sarcastically as she could be bothered.

"No need to be like that." She put her lipstick away and picked at her hair.

"Nothing will ever happen between us."

"Why not?"

"He's young. It's just a crush. And before you say anything, I know because I have had my fair share of them. Most of them went nowhere."

"Most of them?"

"I slept with some of them but the one I really liked got away."

"Does this look alright?"

"Yeah. Beautiful."

Linda leant on the marble that the sinks were set onto.

"Why could nothing happen?" Jenny didn't look at Linda.

"Is it because of the witness relocation programme, Jenny?"

"That's not my name and you know it." Jenny barked. Linda sighed and went over to Jenny taking hold of her hand.

"I know but if anyone were to know your real name it could put you in real harm." Jenny sighed.

"I just hate it here." Linda stroked Jenny's arm.

"You know…the witness relocation programme didn't get between me and you." she leant in to kiss Jenny but got pushed back.

"And _you_ know that was only because you told me you were experimenting. If I'd known you were already experienced I wouldn't have agreed." Linda pulled Jenny in close.

"You said I was good though." Said Linda. "Was that a lie?" Jenny could see where Linda was taking this and tried to push her off but Linda was quite strong.

"No. It wasn't a lie."

"Come on then." Linda insisted. "Just one kiss." Jenny sighed. She could see no way out of this.

"Alright." She leant in to kiss Linda but pulled back. "Just one."

"Promise." Linda smiled and the girls kissed. Linda pulled back and fell against the sinks.

"No more." Stated Jenny.

"Shame." Linda said. "You're kisses are practically orgasmic."

"Don't say that." Jenny barked.

"Alright." Linda said standing up. She picked up her bag. "The boys will be wondering where we are." She left, blowing Jenny a kiss as she left.

* * *

As Jenny came out of the loos she heard a song coming from the jukebox. She didn't know what it was. Something hip hop, possibly rap or something. She sat down and downed her drink in one gulp.

"I'm telling you. Eminem is a musical genius." Said Henry.

"Is that who's playing?" asked Jenny.

"Yeah. I'm just telling Gazz here that Eminem is most likely the most musically talented musician in history." Jenny scoffed.

"Let me tell you something." She said. "I have seen the Automatic Orchestra in Vanezia in the Gemini Province _and_ I saw Fredrico Gobbo, inter-stellar super-sensation in concert. Compared to those Eminem is super-crap."

"Automatic Orchestra?" asked Gazz.

"Yeah. It was a machine that composed concertos and no two performances were the same. I saw it ten times. Now that was music." Linda, Gazz and Henry looked at Jenny in stunned silence.

Suddenly Linda began laughing.

"That's great!" she howled. "You really had me going." Henry looked at her. "She's just joking."

"Oh." Gazz said. "Oh. Good one." he laughed half-heartedly.

"You're a real joker, you are." Laughed Linda.

"Yeah." Said Jenny. "That's me." She put on a fake smile. "A real joke." She muttered.

* * *

The four of them staggered out of the pub in the small hours. Actually Linda and Henry staggered out while Jenny and Gazz sauntered behind them.

"Do you think they're alright?" Gazz asked.

"Are you joking?" replied Jenny. "Henry will be fine; he's only had a couple of lagers. Linda on the other hand has drunken enough Bacardi and cokes to drown a twelve-year-old child. I'm surprised she's still on her feet and not covered in her own puke."

"Oh." Gazz said nodding. "Right." Jenny laughed slightly.

"I'm sorry. That was a bit graphic." She smiled. "But I just don't fit in here. I don't belong. And I never will." Her smile dropped. "But I'm stuck here."

"Oh look." Said Gazz, ignoring her. "There she goes."

Linda fell down on her side and began laughing like a hyena.

"Wait for it," said Gazz, "3…2…1…" and on cue Linda threw up all over the kerb.

"Ah." Sighed Jenny. "Good old predictable Linda." She laughed. "Let's go help 'em."

Henry laughed as Linda fell down onto the road and spewed her guts. He loved the woman laid on the floor and held out his hand to help her up.

"Come on." He said, "Let's get you up before a car comes along."

"Oh no!" she cried as she took Henry's hand. "Look at my hair!" Her long silky brown hair now had vomit over half of it.

Jenny laughed as she and Gazz came over.

"Now that is funny." She said. Linda wasn't pleased at being laughed at.

"Shut up, bitch."

"Whoa!" said Henry. "Linda, baby…"

"Don't you 'Linda baby' me." She shouted. "She's been laughing at me since she got here."

"Now hang on Linda." Said Gazz.

"Neither of you know why she's here. Why she's really here, I mean." she began backing away and was dragging Henry with her.

"Linda, no!" yelled Jenny. "You promised. You swore."

"Why? Why shouldn't I tell them? It's your own fault."

"Linda what are you saying?" asked Henry.

"She," Linda pointed accusingly at Jenny, "is part of a witness protection thing. She's here because she saw something she shouldn't."

"Don't listen to her!" yelled Jenny as they continued to get further away. "She's drunk.

"And she's been snogging me on and off since we met. She wants me."

"That is a lie!"

"Is it true?" asked Gazz quietly.

"What?"

"The witness thing?"

"No. It isn't. She's drunk."

"But it would explain a lot."

"Jenny Smith isn't even her real name." screeched Linda.

"What is your name?" asked Henry.

"What?"

"Tell us. If you're not really on some witness protection thing it won't matter."

Jenny couldn't believe it. In one second the drunken ramblings of a usually untrustworthy person had turned her only friends against her.

A bright light came from behind her and she guessed it must be a lorry. She walked towards the others.

"Guys please stop!" she begged. "This is madness!"

"Tell us your name!" yelled Linda.

"Alright. Alright. My name is…" she stopped because she noticed the light that was coming from behind her had stopped.

Jenny couldn't understand what was going on so she turned, praying it was the lorry driver come to see what was going on.

But it wasn't.

_Next: Unfortunate Reunions and Repeated First Meetings_


	2. U R and R F M

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes:** Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I managed to finish that in just under three hours but I didn't quite manage it this time. Anyway most of the first chapter was made up on the spot but I was planning what was going to happen next while writing it. Hopefully it didn't show in the last chapter. Enjoy, read and review please. Also sorry about the chapter name U. R. and R. F. M. because the full title wouldn't fit.

**Chapter Two: Unfortunate Reunions and Repeated First Meetings**

"What have you got for me?" asked Jack.

"Four people were found lying in the road this morning near a busy pub." Reported Mickey as he placed some articles on the boardroom table.

"And?"

"All of them were dead except one who is currently in the local hospital."

"The bodies were part-way between scorched and having had the flesh ripped from their bones." read Gwen. "Nice."

"Any rift activity?"

"Not since last Wednesday." Said Mickey shaking his head.

"You mean the one where we got there and there was nothing there?" asked Ianto as he picked up the coffee cups.

"Yeah."

"We should interview the person left, then. See what they saw." Said Martha.

"I'll get the grapes." Said Ianto.

* * *

Mickey walked through the hospital passing room after room of sick or dying people. Behind him were Martha and Ianto with the grapes.

"Which room is the person in?" said Mickey, scanning each door as he passed.

"8192" said Martha.

"They're very lucky." Said Ianto. "To have escaped unscathed."

"They didn't."

"What?"

"Here it is." Mickey knocked on the closed door before entering.

There was one bed in the room and in it was a girl with brown hair and a slight face. The three of them walked over and Ianto placed the grapes on a table by the side of the bed. She was unconscious but they saw that part of the right side of her face had been taken. It looked like it was exposed muscles.

"Is that…?"

"I don't think so." said Martha, as she scanned it with one of her devices. "She lost quite a lot of skin. The equivalent to third degree burns."

"Ouch."

"I really need the loo." Said Ianto.

"Man we could do without the update. Just go."

Ianto left Mickey and Martha with the girl.

"It's amazing." Said Martha. "There's no scorch marks, no bleeding, no cuts. It's just not there anymore."

"Well, it wasn't just taken."

"Don't mind me." Said the girl.

"You're awake!" said Martha.

"Yeah, I just have my eyes closed because it hurts less."

"Does it hurt much?"

"I've felt worse." She sighed. "You're with Torchwood aren't you?"

Mickey and Martha looked at each other in shock. How did she know about them? They were a secret organisation.

"How do you know?" he said.

"Ask that guy who just left to introduce us. He knows me." The girl said. "That's why he left so quick he's gone to tell one of the others that its me."

* * *

Ianto had gone round the corner so as not to be overheard. Luckily Torchwood's communication system worked on an alien frequency that didn't affect the hospital's equipment.

"Gwen?" he said.

"Yeah?" she said on the other end of the line. Crystal clear signal too.

"I've seen who our survivor is."

"And you're telling me instead of Jack because…?"

"It's Jennifer." The other end went silent. "Gwen." Nothing. "Gwen?"

"It could have been her who did it." Said Gwen. "We need to bring her in."

* * *

Ianto came back into the hospital room and smiled. Martha was checking out Jenny's wounds on her face while Mickey was just talking to her.

"Well I think you did the right thing." Said Jenny.

"You really think so?"

"Course. It sounds like she was taking you for granted up until you leaving. After that she barely notices you. If it were me I would've booted her long ago. Saying that I only know what you've told me. You're likely to have left out all the good times that you had which would make the decision harder."

"She's awake?" asked Ianto.

"It would seem." Said Martha.

"We need to take her back to the hub."

"Why? What is it?"

"We just need to get her there."

"I am right here you know. Can hear everything." Interjected Jenny.

"There might…" he lowered his voice. "Gwen thinks there might be a chance that she did this."

"Her?"

"Me and Gwen will explain but we need to get there. Can you help her get dressed?"

"Sure." Said Martha. "Mickey."

* * *

Ianto and Mickey came back in the room. Jenny was now dressed in the red shirt and black jeans that she'd worn the night before and had been brought to the hospital in. There was a rip in the back of the shirt and across the stomach. Through the rips they could see more areas of skin that were affected like her face. She had her eyes open now and they saw that they were electric blue.

"Wow." Said Mickey.

"Yeah, wow." Jenny said sarcastically. "Now I'm guessing that I'm your prisoner so do I have a choice or is it straight into the cuffs?" Ianto removed a pair of handcuffs from his pocket that he'd taken from the car before coming back.

"Ianto!" said Martha.

"It's procedure." He assured her.

"Just like last time." Said Jenny. "Don't worry I don't mind. Just don't do them too tight." She held out her wrists. "It got one side of my wrists and they're quite tender."

Ianto gently placed the handcuffs round her wrists.

"Not too tight, are they?" he said adjusting them. Jenny shook her head. She pulled at the cuffs.

"Deadlock sealed." She almost sounded impressed. "I like that." She whispered.

"Okay so who's Jennifer?" asked Jack.

"When you were off gallivanting doing whatever you did," explained Gwen, "we got a large amount of rift activity concentrated in one area." She sat down. "We went to investigate what was going on and found a person there." She tossed a file at him. "We didn't know what else to do with her so we gave her a cover story."

"'Name: Jennifer Smith. Age: supposedly 20.' Supposedly?" read Mickey.

"We only had her word to go on and she didn't look it." Mickey passed the file to Jack.

"Well I don't look my age do I? 'Height: 5ft 2" Weight: unknown Bio: unavailable due to involvement in a serious crime'." He read. "Involvement?"

"She's part of a witness protection programme. It stopped people from asking too many questions." Said Ianto

"So what else did you do?" said Martha as Jack continued to flick through the file.

"We gave her a name, some money, a flat and a job." Said Gwen.

"And?"

"And what?" Jack smacked the file down on the table.

"So you left a person who fell through the rift and who could be from anywhere to get on in a time that might or might not have already happened for them?"

"We didn't know what else to do!" she shouted. "You weren't around." Jack looked shocked but she was right. He hadn't been there.

"We figured it could work like it did for those people who came from the fifties." Said Ianto. Jack ran his hand through his hair and sighed in frustration.

"What would you have done?" asked Gwen. Jack looked her right in the eyes.

"It doesn't matter." Was all he said. "Like you said. I wasn't here."

* * *

Jack headed down to the cells to check on Jenny about 2am. It wasn't that he didn't trust the cameras. He was just curious about her. When he watched Ianto march her through the hub she looked around and her eyes focused on him for a split second longer than everywhere else. Not to mention there was something familiar about her.

He'd sent everyone else home long ago after Gwen had attempted to interrogate Jenny about what happened to the others but was met by either silence or an insult. It seemed she wasn't willing to talk.

As he entered the vault he looked in the cell she was in. She'd fallen asleep already; sprawled out on her back. Jack noticed something on the floor and realised they were the handcuffs that Ianto had put on her earlier.

Suddenly Jenny sat up. She was sweating and breathing heavily. Then she noticed Jack in front of her cell.

"You know, if you haven't slept with someone it's considered rude to watch them while they sleep." She said.

"Is that an invitation?" Jack asked. Jenny laughed.

"Maybe some other time when I'm more in the mood. And not covered in horrendous mystery sores." She shifted so she was sitting on the little bench that protruded out of the wall.

"Trouble sleeping?" Jenny nodded. "What is it?" She raised an eyebrow. "No really. I won't laugh."

"That's not what I'm worried about." She waved his comment aside. "It was just a nightmare."

"Jenny-"

"That isn't my name." she said sternly.

"Then what is it?" Jenny smiled. "What?"

"You're the first person to ask me since I got here." Her smile dropped. "When I fell twenty feet out of the sky, those friends of yours bundled me in here after taking everything I owned off me except the clothes I was wearing. They left me here for about two hours before coming back saying this is your name, 'this is your job and there's your house. Bye.'"

"So what is your name?"

"What does it matter?" she spat. "I'm just going to be Jennifer all my life now."

"Do you know where your stuff is?"

"Yeah. They stuffed it all in a box and put it in that safe they have." Jenny stopped.

After a while Jack said, "I got a call from the police earlier." He paused. "They were unable to identify the bodies you were found with."

"Not even with dental records." Jack shook his head.

"Maybe you could tell me who they were."

"You're a one for firsts aren't you? You're the first to ask me that." She sighed. "There were two men and one woman. Gary Jenkins, Henry Picter and Linda Hedley."

"Thank you." said Jack.

"He fancied me." She said solemnly.

"Who?"

"Gary. He even asked me out. I explained to him I couldn't for reasons I couldn't begin to explain to him. But he didn't care. He was besotted with me." She laughed weakly. "He said he understood and bought me a video camera to make up for it. Said he was an idiot for even asking. He kept apologising." She stared at the wall.

"He sounds nice."

"He didn't stop there though." She continued. Her voice became emotionless "He bought a 15" telly. The best he could afford." She laughed again. "And a sofa. Cushions to go on it. In fact," she closed her eyes as she thought, "now that I think about it, he furnished over half of my flat." Jenny petered out.

"You must have liked him a lot."

"You'd think that…but I didn't." She shook her head. "I didn't feel anything for him."

A light flickered above Jack's head but he paid it no attention.

"Do you feel guilty?" Jack said, breaking the momentary silence.

"I didn't kill them!" Jack put his hands up.

"I never said you did." He slowly lowered his hands again. "Sometimes a survivor feels responsible for the losses."

"I don't."

The awkward silence descended upon them once more.

"Any more questions?" Jenny asked.

"Just one."

"Shoot."

"What was your nightmare about?" She didn't answer. "Was it about what happened last night?" Jenny pointed at Jack.

"That constitutes as two questions." She said but she sighed. "Yeah, it was."

"What happened last night?"

"I'm now counting three." Jenny held up three fingers.

"Just tell me." Jenny stopped as though paused in thought.

"We were out. Just a late night on the town." She took a deep breath. "I went with Gary and Henry, we met up with Linda. Never liked her. Anyway the time was getting on for one in the morning.

"We start arguing. They accuse me of lying to them and damn near order me to tell my name. Thing is I was the only one who was sober…" she stopped. "I don't think I've ever said that before… weird."

Jack coughed causing Jenny to go on..

"… and I know that if I say I'm from 'out there' your friends would see to it that I ended up in a lunatic asylum or dead. And to top it all off, there was a bright light coming from behind me. I thought it was a lorry or something" She sighed. "Saying no just made them louder and someone was sure to come investigating. I panicked. I was just about to tell them when that bright light just stopped.

"I turned around to see what was going on and…" she broke off and stared at the wall again.

"What?" asked Jack. Jenny didn't answer. "What did you see?"

"I don't remember." She said quietly. "Just more bright light, I suppose. And a deafening amount of white noise." Jenny smiled. "Real scary isn't it?" she said sarcastically.

Neither of them said anything but it wasn't like the silences before. It was a finishing silence. One to show the conversation was over.

Jack turned to leave; he doubted he was going to get any more from her tonight. Besides he had felt the oncoming sleep for a while now and couldn't fight it off for much longer. But as he was leaving Jenny whistled.

"Hey you." she said. "Yeah you tall, dark and gorgeous." Jack stopped and turned. "You like questions? Here's one for you."

"I'm listening."

"How come when your pale friend with the black hair asked me about this earlier I'm as shut as a deadlock seal but you ask and I open up like a set of floodgates?" Jack shrugged.

"It's my good looks." Jenny shook her head.

"It would take a bit more than that." She said. "Not that you're not scorchin' hot." They both paused in thought. Then Jenny clicked her fingers. "I got it." Jack waved at her to continue. "She ruined my life and you didn't."

Jack didn't say anything. He believed her but he wasn't going to admit it.

"Look I've got to sleep."

"Go ahead." She said. "So have I." And with that she turned over.

Jack hated to leave it at that but he didn't know what else to do.

"Good night."

_Next: Sending Out an SOS_


	3. Sending Out an SOS

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes: **I'm really happy with where this fic is going and I'm doing well. I have a rough idea what's going on but sometimes things are coming out unplanned. Hopefully those bits don't show. Thanks to those who have reviewed it. Enjoy.

**Chapter Three: Sending Out an SOS**

'Three bodies were found outside a pub near the centre of Cardiff last night with their skin burnt off. They were burnt beyond recognition and couldn't be identified by dental records. People are asked to come forward if they have any ideas who they may be.'

He ripped the newspaper to shreds. She'd got away. She was still alive, and now she was protected by those idiots at Torchwood.

He stood up and walked over to his pine table. On it was a small device, the one he'd used twenty-four hours ago. He had no idea what it was but he sure as hell knew what it could do. He was still unable to use it properly and had nearly burnt his hand off.

Thinking, he smiled.

If he knew how people like her thought, which he did, then she wouldn't like being cooped up. Eventually they'd let her wander and when they did he'd be ready.

Unfortunately, patience was a virtue that he did not possess.

* * *

It was 10 O' clock in the morning and on an average day there everyone would be busy rushing around. This morning, however it was quite quiet. For starters Gwen wasn't there yet.

"Any rift activity, Mickey?" asked Jack. Mickey tapped at his keyboards.

"Nothing." He said shaking his head. "Nada. Nil."

"We get it." Said Jack. "How about Jenny?"

Mickey brought up the CCTV from the cells up. Alongside it he put all her vitals.

Jenny was stood up leaning against the wall, staring intently at her right wrist.

"How long has she been doing that?"

"At a guess… about ten minutes." Jack nodded.

"What say you Miss Martha? How is she physically?" Jack called down into the autopsy room where Martha was coming out of.

Earlier that morning, Martha had done a physical examination of Jenny to check how much damage had been done as well as some blood tests and DNA swabs.

"There appears to be no real damage. Jenny has no problems breathing or eating which suggests that she has no internal injury." Martha replied peeling off her latex gloves.

"And the burns?"

"I don't think they're actually burns." She went to her workstation and pulled up some pictures she'd taken of the burns. "I mean, they all look like burns, all of them, but they seem to be causing no discomfort to her at all. Not only that but the 'burns' aren't exposed."

"How do you mean?"

"Touching them causes her no pain anymore."

The klaxons that accompanied the opening and closing of the floodgate were set off as Gwen stepped through. She was beaming.

"Sorry I'm late, guys." She said.

"What time do you call this?" Jack asked as Ianto gave him a coffee. "You know what, doesn't matter. Just go check on Jenny."

"Sure. Fine." Gwen dropped off her coat at her workbench and then headed down to the vaults.

"But Jack," said Mickey, "we got Jenny on screen."

"I know. But didn't you see Gwen's face." Jack grinned. "She's not ready to work just yet."

* * *

Gwen heaved the huge door leading to the vaults open. Jenny was in the first cell. She was leant against the wall staring intently at her watch on her right wrist.

"I'm here to check on you." Gwen said.

"Meh." Gwen looked at the watch.

"Nice watch." She said.

"Gazz got it for me." Jenny didn't look up. "Not as nice as my last one though."

"Who's Gazz?" Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Never mind." She glanced up. "Well somebody got some last night."

"Got some what?"

"Some sweet lovin'."

"Excuse me?" Gwen choked.

"Oh please." Jenny turned back to her watch. "The only way you could have a bigger grin is if you were a Cheshire cat."

Gwen's mouth hung open in shock. Eventually she opened her mouth to argue back but thought better of it. Jenny was just trying to get to her and she was better than that.

"It's alright." Jenny continued. "I think it's sweet. Who was it?"

Gwen struggled to keep her mouth shut. Normally she would be screaming at them to shut up but she refused to give Jenny the satisfaction.

"I'm guessing whoever it was is the one."

"What?" Gwen blurted.

"You're wearing a wedding ring, Pepperpot."

"My name is Gw-"

"I don't care." Gwen swallowed; sometimes coping with people was more difficult that she wished it was. "By the way, how long ago did you find me?"

"Oh…um…about four mo…five…no six…six months." She looked at Jenny. "Why?"

"No reason."

Gwen wondered why on Earth Jenny was staring at her watch so much. It's not natural.

"What are you doing?"

"Waiting."

"What for?"

"Ssh." Hushed Jenny. "3…2…1…"

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee…

Gwen screamed and grabbed her ears. At the exact time Jenny predicted, a loud, high-pitched whine began transmitting through the vault.

"Oh God!" shouted Gwen over the noise. "What have you done?"

Jenny wasn't clutching her ears but instead stood there smiling from ear to ear.

"That's just it!" she yelled even louder than Gwen because it had to get through the plastic cell door. "I haven't done anything!"

* * *

"Jack!" Gwen yelled. She'd staggered from the vaults to the main hub where the sound was even louder, if that's possible.

"Hang on!" yelled Mickey. "I'll see if I can turn down the volume!"

He tapped at his keyboard furiously and after about thirty seconds the noise lessened in both in volume and pitch but was still there.

"There you go." He said as everyone gathered round his workstation.

"Can't you get rid of it?" asked Ianto.

"No. It's nothing to do with me." He scanned the screens before him. "It's some sort of signal."

"Can you track it?" Jack asked coming from his office.

"Of course." He brought a map of Cardiff up on one of his screens. "It's local." Then he zoomed in and in until…

"Wait a minute," said Martha, "that's the hub."

"You said it wasn't here." Said Gwen.

"No. I said it wasn't me." Mickey pointed at her. "It must be something in here."

"Jenny knew this was going to happen." Gwen told Jack.

"You sure?" he asked.

"Yes, I am sure. She counted down and everything."

"I think I know where it might be coming from." Said Ianto.

* * *

Ianto dumped the small box of things on Jack's desk, the owner of which was sitting behind it.

"What's this?" Jack gestured at the box.

"It's everything Jennifer had on her when she fell through the rift." Ianto replied. "If it's anything to do with her it'll be in this box."

Jack nodded and began sifting through the stuff.

There was a blue fold-away umbrella, several items that seemed like they could be weapons of sorts and a few playing cards.

Jack held up the cards with one eyebrow raised looking for an explanation.

"Apparently she was playing poker when she fell through."

Jack continued and found quite a lot of stuff. How could she carry it all?

But right at the bottom of the box Jack found something that slightly scared him.

* * *

Jenny was sat in the interrogation room opposite Jack. She was unfazed by the whole situation and sat there calmly while Jack looked daggers at her.

"Im glad you didn't bother about the handcuffs this time." Jenny said. "I mean, I've been able to get out of those since I was seven. Give me some credit."

Jack didn't reply. He was going over things in his head.

"Come on, Sparky." She continued. "Say something cus I'm not gonna do all the talkin'."

"Fine." Jack said. "I'm-"

"Oh, don't bother with that, Sparky." Jenny interrupted. "I didn't know who you were last night but I figured it out."

"You did?"

"Yeah, course." She laughed leaning back. "You're Captain Jack Harkness, rogue Time Agent."

Jack was shocked.

"How do you know that?" he asked. "Never mind. Talk to me about this." He dumped a wrist strap like the one he wore on the grey table that was between them.

"What do you want me to say?" Jenny shook her head.

"This was found in a box filled with your stuff upstairs."

"And?"

"Where did you get it?"

"Duh. The same place you got yours." Jack's face was blank so she said, "The Time Agency."

"You're a Time Agent?"

"Was. Past tense. It's shut down now."

"Yeah, I heard."

"That's enough about me though. Well for now anyway." Jenny leaned forward. "I thought you were just a myth. A made-up story that the Time Agency spread to stop people going rogue." She laughed. "Everyone who's been a Time Agent knows about your story." She sat up straight. "One day you woke up without two years of your memories. They'd been taken by the Time Agency and so to get your revenge you set up a series of cons to hit them where it hurt; their bank balance.

"They all went well until you got to your attempt at the 'shell, sell, boom' scam. By the way I popped to 1941 to see if you _were_ real and 'oh my God!' Backfire of the century or what? You nearly rewrote human DNA. But you stopped it.

"Still the story went that you were killed by keeping a bomb in stasis in your ship, which I also saw and it was beautiful." Jenny stopped smiling. "But rumours went round that you'd been saved by a Time Lord which few people believed because they're supposed to be extinct. How did you get out? Don't be like that other Captain Jack I've seen. You know the one who says he got out with sea turtles."

Jack sat there in stunned silence. He'd become a legend within the Time Agency and before him sat a Time Agent.

"Nothing, eh?" Jenny asked. Jack snapped out of it.

"What did you do?"

"Come on, Sparky. You were a Time Agent once. Surely you remember Emergency Protocol One."

Jack didn't remember Emergency Protocol One and it must have showed on his face because Jenny sighed.

"In case of an avalanche or something, all Time Agency wrist straps have a procedure so a body or survivor can be found. Emergency Protocol One is activated after the wrist strap isn't used for six months. It sends out a signal that can only be detected by advanced technology, most of which resides within this bunker."

"So it's a distress signal?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"How far does it reach?"

"I dunno." Jenny said. "About twenty miles in every direction."

"So how do we turn it off?"

"You can't."

"What?"

"Only I can." Jenny pointed at the wrist strap. "It takes a sixty-eight digit code to turn it off and only I know what it is." Jenny folded her arms. "Technically it is my property and I think I deserve to have it back."

"Oh no. You'll probably teleport out of here."

"Sparky. I expected you to treat me with better respect. Not all Time Agents run away." Jenny acted offended. "Anyway, I couldn't go even if I wanted to, which I don't. Producing the signal takes up a lot of energy. After putting in the code and turning off the signal, it could take anything between forty-eight hours and two weeks before it's back online. So what do you say?" Jenny held out her hand, expecting Jack to shake it.

Jack thought about it. Jenny was a Time Agent and Time Agents are bad news. But then she's been attacked and might not be like the others. Then again…

Jack reached out with his hand, but he didn't shake Jenny's hand. Instead he picked up the wrist strap on the table and put it in her hand.

"Turn it off." He said.

* * *

Nyall tried desperately to put his trousers on without waking up the customer in the bed. However no matter how quiet he was the noise of London's mid-morning traffic was blaring through the open window. Silently he prayed it wouldn't wake up the man in the bed.

Last night had been unbelievable. But he needed to get out of there.

"Why the hurry?" came a voice from the bed.

Nyall turned. He was awake.

"Um…nothing." he garbled. "That is…work. I'm about an hour late for work."

"Ah, that's alright." The man sniffed. "I had plans for today anyway." He swung his legs over the side of the bed and picked up his own trousers.

"Look I'd love to stay with you. I really would," Nyall insisted doing up his shirt, "it's just I'll get fired if I'm not there soon."

"No, it's alright. Really." The man slipped on his dirty beige shirt. "I understand." He stood up, went over to the window and pulled back the curtains. The sudden rush of light was blinding and Nyall put his arm up to block it.

Quick as a flash, Nyall was half-way out of the window. The man had grabbed his throat and was now dangling him out the window.

"Now there is nothing between this floor and the car park below. It's about a forty foot fall. Tell me. Why shouldn't I just let go of your neck?" he asked.

"I'll…ah…work…late." Nyall gasped and choked.

"You won't be late if I let go." The man said. "You'll be on sick leave. I'll be doing you a favour." He was just about to let go when his watch started emitting a whine.

The man sighed and hauled Nyall back in the hotel room, chucking him to the corner of the room. Instantly Nyall began to breathe deeply.

"Stay there." The man instructed and Nyall wasn't going to disobey him now.

He poked at his watch and something was projected into the air which Nyall couldn't make out. It seemed to be a sort of a map or something. Nyall's 'friend' pressed something else on his watch and it disappeared.

"This is your lucky day." The guy said, picking up his red jacket and effects. "Something important has come up and it can't wait." He went to leave but stopped. He turned to Nyall. "You never saw me. I was never here. You overslept and nothing happened."

Nyall nodded. He was still alive and wasn't about to jeopardise that.

The guy smiled and winked before he left.

_Next: The Time Agency_


	4. The Time Agency

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes: **I'd guess I'm about half way through this fic but I don't know**. **I was staggered by all the people who are reading my fic and I hope everyone's enjoying it. Not very much is going to happen but this chapter looks into the Time Agency. Thanks to people who are reviewing it for me. Good and BAd reviews are welcome.

**Chapter Four: The Time Agency**

Jack sat down behind his desk. He'd left the interrogation room after Jenny had put on the wrist strap and turned off its signal.

Leaning on his desk he rested his face in his hands and let out a deep breath. Jenny had brought up so much in there he just needed a couple of minutes to himself. It had never dawned on him how much had been at stake in 1941 until she pointed it out, and all because of him.

"Jack?" came a voice from the door into his office. He looked up and saw Martha waiting patiently just outside. "Can I come in?" he waved her in. "Jenny's still in the interrogation room," she said, "the others are watching her."

"And you?" Jack asked.

"She said you were a con man."

"I'd rather not talk about it." It wasn't the fact that he said, it was the_ way_ that Jack said it that showed Martha how much he didn't want to talk about it.

"Did they really take your memory?"

"Yeah they did." Martha turned and saw Jenny behind her. Jack frowned.

"I thought you were being watched." He said.

"Well obviously not very well." She shrugged. "They haven't even noticed I've gone yet." Jenny turned to Martha. "You see Dr Jones; the Time Agency wasn't exactly the best employer." Jenny walked into the office and began picking at the stuff on one of the shelves. "Very few Time Agents were unaffected by them in some way or another."

"Stop that." Said Jack and Jenny put down the pair of 3-D glasses in her hand.

"Were you affected?" asked Martha. Jenny folded her arms and looked at her feet.

"Well-"

"Jack!" came a yell from outside the office. Martha turned and saw Gwen running across the hub closely followed by Ianto with Mickey just behind him.

"Lo and behold!" said Jenny. "They've noticed."

Gwen was out of breath by the time she reached Jack's office.

"Jack!" she puffed. "She's gone! Jenny she's escaped the interrogation room!"

"It's alright." Said Jack as Ianto and Mickey caught up with Gwen. "She's right here." He pointed at Jenny who waved at them half-heartedly.

"What are you doing here?" asked Ianto.

"In the two times you've brought me to your house, I've only seen two rooms; the one with the table and the one with the see-through wall." She counted them on her fingers. "Why would you hide the best rooms away from me? Besides I got bored."

"She's fine." Said Jack before he turned to Jenny. "You were saying?" She laughed weakly.

"I'd hoped you'd forgotten." She folded her arms again. "The Time Agency took a distinct dislike to me. They told me I was reckless and a liability. They would have fired me long ago if I wasn't willing to do the assignments that no one else was willing to do.

"When I wasn't doing those, the Time Agency sent me on life-threatening assignments in hope that I'd get killed and no longer cause them problems. Except I always came back. Then one day they send me to the seventh moon of Ralcorn in the Kaypa system.

"On my way there I was ambushed by a group of Thloriens."

Gwen, Ianto, Mickey and Martha looked confused.

"What's a Thlorien?" asked Martha.

"Thloriens are a nomadic species." Said Jack and every head except Jenny's turned to him. "They travel the galaxy in groups. Every time they come in to contact with another species they take one of them, just one so as not to arouse suspicion and use them in their own experiments."

"You see, they see experimenting on fellow Thloriens as a sin of the highest order." said Jenny. "So they experiment on anyone who crosses their path and isn't Thlorien.

"So people who claim to be abducted by aliens may have been taken by Thloriens for experimentation?" suggested Gwen.

"No." said Jack.

"Why?"

"Because, Pepperpot," interrupted Jenny, "anyone experimented on by Thloriens are usually killed once they know it works."

Gwen mouthed 'oh' and stopped.

"Then how did you survive?" asked Jack.

"One thing at a time, Sparky." Replied Jenny "I'm getting there.

"So they capture me and do things more than against the Shadow Proclamation to me. I wonder what in hell's name they might be doing to me. Then one day I overhear two of them talking and one of them says,

"'Kell conat mortia. Kell co sons marna armio.'"

"What does that mean?" asked Gwen.

"She won't die. She will be our soldier." Jenny paused. "It was then I realised they weren't just experimenting on me. They were planning to use me as a weapon in a war against the Shadow Proclamation."

"So that's why you survived that attack." Said Ianto. "You're immortal." Jenny shook her head.

"No. I'm not." She said. "They never perfected it. Before they could, a platoon of Judoon boarded and arrested every Thlorien on board allowing me to walk free. I asked how they knew where to find the Thloriens and apparently they got a tip off from a trusted friend. They didn't tell me his name; just said he was a doctor.

"Anyway I went to see a friend for a check up to make sure I wasn't dying of anything. I mean if I was I wasn't going to waste my remaining time working for the Time Agency. He did some tests and came back astonished at the results. He said there was an abnormality in my DNA that he's never seen before. I asked if it was dangerous and he said it was the opposite.

"I went back to the Time Agency but it was different. I was able to stand up to more than an average person. Several shots, bashings, stabbings and so on. And I noticed that wounds started to heal themselves.

"I'm not _im_mortal, just a little bit less mortal than other people."

A silence spread across the hub as Jenny finished telling her story and lasted several minutes. Jenny watched everyone's faces and tried to guess what they were thinking but gave up.

"That's not why I came in here though." She continued.

"Why did you come in here then?" asked Martha.

"I need some air." She stated. "I want to go out and know that I won't get past that big circular door of yours without Sparky here's permission." She nodded in Jack's direction.

"Why do you keep calling me Sparky?"

"It's your nickname." She smiled. "Besides you looked like you died a little inside every time I called you Jack in the interrogation room."

"So why do you call me Pepperpot?" asked Gwen. Jenny turned.

"Oh, that's easy." She chuckled. "I just don't like you."

"I'm not sure I like you." Jenny grinned before turning back to Jack.

"So what do you say?" Jack shook his head.

"No." he said.

"C'mon."

"No."

"Just for a couple of hours."

"No." Jenny sighed.

"People will be wondering where I am if I don't go out. It's stuffy in here and I've been in here long enough. Surely I've told you enough to rule me out."

"You might run off."

"Oh yeah." Jenny said with extreme sarcasm. "Where exactly am I going to run to?"

"I'm sorry."

"Look if you're worried about me disappearing, you can track me with your own wrist strap."

"What?" Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Don't you know anything about that thing on your arm?" she asked. Jenny walked over to his desk. "Hold it out." Jack hesitated. "Just hold it out." He put out his right arm on which he had his wrist strap and Jenny started pressing some buttons on it.

She finally stopped when a projection of a Cardiff map appeared above Jack's wrist. Then she pressed some more buttons and a shining blue spot appeared where the hub was.

"That blue spot is me." Instructed Jenny as she stepped back. "Or to be more precise it's my wrist strap." She held up her right wrist which had her wrist strap on. "The tracker runs off of body heat rather than the battery. So now can I go?"

Jack thought about it. He could almost hear Gwen shouting at him in her head to tell Jenny no.

"Alright." He said eventually turning off the tracker.

"Thank you."

"But you're taking this." He said holding out a communication earpiece. Jenny took it. "You can go out for a few hours. But I want you to use that to check in every fifteen minutes. If you miss one I will call you myself."

"Sure whatever." She placed it in her ear.

"And if, for some reason, we need you back, we will call and you will come straight back. Is that understood?" Jenny gave him a mock salute.

"Yes, Sparky. Can I go now?" Jack nodded.

"Ianto will show you out."

"This way, Miss Smith." Said Ianto beginning to walk towards the door.

"That's not my name." she said but she followed him.

Gwen went out back to her workstation, giving Jack the cold shoulder like she'd sometimes done before.

"I'll get on with some work." Said Mickey and he left the doorway.

Martha looked at Jack with a big grin on her face.

"What?" said Jack.

"You were treating her like she was your teenage daughter." she said.

"Was I?"

"Yes. Have you ever done that before?"

Jack thought about it.

"Not in this era." He said.

_Next: Return to the Outside World_


	5. Return to the Outside World

Jenny walked down the road towards central Cardiff

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes: **This and the next chapter were originally going to be in the last chapter but it made more sense to put it into three chapters as apposed to one extremely long chapter. Thanks to all people reviewing my work.

**Chapter Five: Return to the Outside World**

Jenny walked down the road towards central Cardiff. She'd gone home to change her shirt before coming out again. She wasn't planning to stay at home. Eventually somebody would realise and everything would be stolen. Not that she cared.

She glanced at her wrist strap for the seventieth time. Just having it back on her wrist made her feel more like herself. She'd lied to Jack when she said it wouldn't work for a while but she still wasn't going to go anywhere. All her other stuff in that box was important too but everything that would come would rest on her wrist strap; she was counting on it.

Jenny knew where she was going first. It was harder to find in the light. For one thing she was disorientated from being underground for a couple of days, and for another there was a small part of her that didn't want to see. The part she had denied since arriving; the part that liked Earth and its people.

The road was closed and there were a couple of police officers standing there to keep back the small crowd straining to see. The road went round the corner to a dead end which made it easier for them.

Jenny stood for a minute. Slowly she reached for her ear piece and pressed it. It beeped.

"Jack?" she said softly.

"Speaking." came his voice over the com. She was surprised, it was almost like he was standing right next to her. She'd seen tech like it before but never held by humans before the thirty-ninth Century. "Jenny?"

"Yeah." She sighed.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked. "You sound…"

"No I'm fine." She said, perhaps a bit too quickly. "Just a bit shocked by the rush up here after being underground. Just checking in."

"Fine. Check in again in fifteen minutes." The com beeped again and he was gone.

Yesterday morning Jenny had been a one-of-a-kind cynical person who was out of her time. Now she was two-of-a-kind with someone from her own time. And with Jack Harkness of all people.

Jenny took a deep breath and, as confidently as possible, strode forwards towards the road.

Gently she pushed her way forward through the writhing crowd. When she got to the front she was gently pushed back by a police officer.

"Stay back there please, miss." The policeman said in strong Welsh tones.

Jenny leant to her left to see round him but she couldn't see anything. In the middle of the road a white tent had been set up and a policeman stood on guard to make sure no one would sneak in.

"Y'alright there, Jenny?" came a familiar voice to the side. Jenny turned and saw Andy.

"Hey Andy." She said sidling along to get closer. "On duty are you?"

"Yeah. Crowd control." He laughed.

"What happened here?" she said innocently.

"Not a bloody clue." He said. He gestured towards the tent. "Under there there's a crater. No one knows how it got there."

"Gosh."

"I know. And I wasn't here then but earlier there were three badly burnt corpses." He shivered. "Anyway, what happened to your face?"

"Hmm?" Jenny put a hand on her right cheek. "Oh, this. It's nothing. I just fell over yesterday. It's just a graze."

"Well it looks pretty nasty." Andy said. "You should go to the hospital. Get them to have a look at it."

"I've already been. They said I'll be fine, just put a bit of savlon on it."

"Oh. Well I better get back to work." He held up a couple of coffees.

"No rest for the wicked." Said Jenny as he turned to hand the coffee out. "Or the innocent it would seem." She added under her breath.

She fought her way out of the crowd. Looking at her wrist strap she rolled her eyes and pressed her ear piece.

Time to check in again.

* * *

She was walking through the streets near a row of little shops. There was a dry cleaners, a small bookies, a Chinese takeaway, a fish and chip shop and a small greasy spoon called Edna's.

Jenny had nowhere to go but still over an hour before she needed to be back in the underground and she wasn't willing to go in before time was up. She'd half-hoped she run into someone if she walked around but no luck so far.

Then she heard someone knocking on glass and turned. Her 'friend' Dane was in the greasy spoon, knocking on the glass wall and gesturing at her to come in and join him. She smiled and pushed open the glass door.

Inside it was warm and the air was thick with the smell of sausages, bacon, burgers and eggs. This aspect of the twenty-first century always managed to make her smile. It was just like home used to be.

She sat down opposite Dane who gave her five. They were at the window table, from there they could watch other going about their everyday business like they were watching a television.

"Hey, Jen." He said. "How are ya?"

"I've been better." She sighed.

"I know what ya need."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He took the laminated menu off the table behind him and passed it to her. "Something to eat."

"You know there's a menu right there." She pointed at the menu that was laid right in front of him.

"Yeah, I know. But this one's covered with food." He grinned broadly as a young lanky waitress came over and waited for the order. "Pick something."

"Love to, but I'm skint."

"My treat. Come on." He winked at her.

"If I pick something will you promise never to do that again?" she laughed.

"Sure." He laughed. "What ya havin'?"

"Bacon burger." The waitress jotted it down.

"And you?" she said pointing rudely at Dane.

"Hot dog and chips." She jotted it down and walked off.

Jenny's com began beeping in her ear.

"Did ya-" began Dane but Jenny held up a finger.

"I gotta take this." She pressed her ear piece. "What?" she said.

"You were supposed to check in ten minutes ago." Came Jack's stern voice.

"Well I'm sorry but I'm with a friend. I lost track of time."

"What? Asked Dane.

'Bluetooth' mouthed Jenny pointing at her right ear as Jack replied over the com.

"Are you with a guy?"

"As a matter of fact yes."

"Oh." Jack said in a taunting way. Jenny sighed.

"Remind me how old you are."

"Sorry to interrupt."

"No you're not."

"Check in again in fifteen minutes."

"Sure thing, Sparky." She touched the ear piece again and let out a big sigh.

"Whoa." Said Dane. "Who was that?"

"Sparky."

"You must not like him to give him a nickname."

"What?" Jenny laughed.

"You only give nicknames to people who get on your nerves."

"That's not true. I don't not like Sparky." She said. "I'm undecided. Besides he don't mind."

Dane shook his head. "Sometimes, right, I don't get ya."

Jenny laughed. "So what were you saying?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Did ya hear bout that pile of bodies?"

"What?" Dane leaned in so as not to be overheard, not that anyone was listening.

"They found three scorched bodies over by that pub that Henry and Gazz go to, right. And so I called Gazz and he weren't picking up and neither was Henry." Jenny nodded. "I think they were the ones who found."

"And the third one?"

"Most likely Linda. Thing is I don't have her number so it might not be." He shook his head. "But that's not the main thing."

"Three bodies being found with the skin scorched off their bones isn't the main thing?"

"No, right." He leant in even closer. "I didn't see what happened but I was going past, right, it was well early like and I saw _four_ bodies lying in the road."

"So what are you saying?" Jenny tried not to cover up her right cheek knowing that will draw in attention.

"I mean whoever did that had it backfire on them but is still alive, right, and walking the streets of Cardiff." He said in an attempted eerie voice. "He could be sitting in this very room."

"Yeah." Said Jenny sarcastically. "Half man, half barbeque beef ribs."

"No, right. I'm serious." He said and he glanced out the window. "See that guy there?"

"Which one?" Jenny said looking.

"The one in the brown and grey jumper."

"Yeah." Jenny saw him. He had brown flat hair, was wearing black trousers and was stood next to the bench placed in front of a floral display.

"He's done nothing but watch you since he got there about five minutes ago." Dane said jabbing at the window. "Now he could be the psycho responsible for the bodies."

Jenny watched the strange guy who watched her. He was quite a way away but there weren't many people going by. Jenny would swear in a court of law that she'd never seen him before but there was something about his face was unbelievably familiar.

"_She," Linda pointed accusingly at Jenny, "is part of a witness protection thing. She's here because she saw something she shouldn't."_

"My point, right, is that none of us are safe." Continued Dane but Jenny was only half listening. She was confused by him. Something about last night.

"_Is it true?" asked Gazz quietly._

"_What?"_

"_The witness thing?"_

"_No. It isn't. She's drunk."_

"_But it would explain a lot."_

The waitress was walking past and Dane gently tapped her.

"How much longer till we get our food?" he asked.

"As long as it takes." Spat the waitress before walking on.

The guy took a bag from his back and reached into it and seemed to be looking for something but his eyes never left Jenny. She hadn't even seen him blink yet.

_A bright light came from behind her and she guessed it must be a lorry._

"_Guys please stop!" she begged. "This is madness!"_

"_Tell us your name!" yelled Linda._

"_Alright. Alright. My name is…" she stopped because she noticed the light that was coming from behind her had stopped._

_Jenny couldn't understand what was going on so she turned, praying it was the lorry driver come to see what was going on._

Jenny turned away from the guy outside and looked at Dane instead.

"Honestly." He said. "The service here can be terrible."

"Dane." Said Jenny. "I need you to shut up and listen." Dane stopped talking and sat waiting.

"What do you want to say?" he said shaking his head.

"Not to me. Just listen." And Dane listened. "Tell me what you here."

"Well, I hear the sizzle of sausages, the hum of the telly, people talking. What am I listening for?"

"White noise." Dane looked at her dumbfounded.

"What's that?"

"Static." Dane listened.

"No." he said. "Actually…now that you mention it I can. Sort of faint." Jenny turned back to the guy outside. He was stood with his bag at his feet and something clasped in his right hand.

Jenny listened too. She could hear a faint amount of white noise except it seemed to be growing.

"Bacon burger and hot dog and chips." Said the waitress beside their table as she set them down.

"And about time too." Said Dane. The waitress stalked off. "She'll come round one day." He said to himself.

"You what, Dane?" said Jenny turning to him. Dane picked up several chips and stuffed them into his mouth.

"What?"

"I think you're right about him."

"Chillax, Jen. I was just joking."

SMASH!

_Chapter 6: On the Run_


	6. On the Run

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes: **As I said in the last chapter this was going to be in chapter 4 but it took more words and action than I'd anticipated. Everything starts happening in this chapter. Thanks to all reviewers, please keep all reviews, good and bad coming.

**Chapter Six: On the Run**

_SMASH!_

It was like a small explosion had hit the side of the café shattering the glass wall. All of the glass moved in and began imbedding itself in anybody that stood between it and wherever it was planning to end up.

The blast also knocked over all the plastic tables that were rooted to the floor as well as the chairs.

Everyone further back in the café was knocked out their seats or off their feet by the force of the explosion.

Those closer were caught by small shards of glass that were able to travel further than the others because they were lighter, but they were generally alright.

Those closest to windows had the worst of it. They were hit by the glass as soon as it crashed through and the tables and chairs were thrown so they landed on top of them, pinning them down.

The good news was there were only three people close enough to the windows for this to happen to them. Jenny Smith, Dane Jennings and a lonely man known simply as Jeff who was sat behind Dane.

The bad news was that Jeff was killed almost instantly by a direct puncture to his lung by one of the first pieces of glass to leave the wall.

Everyone within the café started shouting or screaming, either for themselves or someone they were with. People outside had ran away screaming or ran closer screaming.

They were yelling things like, "Is everyone alright?" or "What happened?" or "Have you seen him? Where is he?"

People in the café who weren't hurt were either choking on sobs or helping those who were more hurt. The rude waitress who had moved towards the back of the café looked round.

"Oh my God!" she said looking at the carnage.

The lights had been taken out by the explosion but as it was still day outside they could see pretty well.

The two cooks who had been in kitchen and untouched by the explosion came out. The female one began reassuring people and tending wounds.

"Call the police!" she shouted at the waitress who didn't argue. "For heaven's sake, Tony!" she yelled at the male cook. "Start shifting some debris!"

Tony went round lifting chairs and hoisting tables, watching where he trod all the while.

He came to a table near where the wall had been and lifted it up. Underneath he found the body of Jeff.

"God rest his soul." He muttered.

He moved on to the next table and lifting it up he heard someone coughing. Beneath this table were a young lady and a young man. She was the one coughing and as soon as the table was moved she sat up.

"My name's Edna. You alright?" said the female cook coming over and kneeling down while Tony moved on.

"I'm fine." Said Jenny which was a lie. She was in complete agony; she could already feel several large pieces of glass sticking out of her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Jenny said sternly. "What about him?" she gestured at Dane who was unconscious. "He's the one to worry about."

As soon as Edna moved onto Dane Jenny stood up and looked through the space in the wall.

The guy was gone.

* * *

Jenny was running down a road a bit away from the café. She wasn't quite sure of the reason but she'd narrowed it down to three, all of which held some truth.

1. She was afraid he might strike again and she wouldn't survive another attack so she was running away.

2. He might strike again and kill someone else so she was running in a different direction.

3. He'd run off and she wasn't ready to let him get away without an explanation so she was chasing him.

Half way down the street outside a restaurant Jenny had to stop. She bent double and tried to get her breath back.

Breathing was difficult and straightening up she saw why. There was a piece of glass sticking out of her chest. It was slanted and might have got past her ribs and spiked a lung or something.

Jenny was starting to attract a lot of attention and she was beginning to feel dizzy.

"Are you alright?" said a voice in front of her. She looked up and saw a man a bit taller than herself with short dark hair.

"Yeah." Jenny laughed. "Why wouldn't I be?" and then she felt a sharp pain in her chest and couldn't breathe, collapsing forward onto the man.

"Well for one thing you've got glass sticking out of you every which way." He said catching her. "And for another you're bleeding heavily. I'm going to get you to the hospital."

"No." said Jenny pushing him away. "It's alright. I know a doctor. And I'm going to go see him. Right now." And she began running again.

That guy had to be round here somewhere.

* * *

The dark-haired man watched her run away and was concerned. He looked at his hands where he'd caught her and they were sticky with blood. He dug in his pocket and pulled out his mobile.

Quickly he dialled it and placed it against his ear. Eventually it was answered.

"Not right now, sweetie."

"This is an emergency, Gwen."

* * *

Jenny didn't know where she was running now. She'd turned so many corners and taken so many 'shortcuts' that she didn't know where she was let alone where she was going.

Then she saw something she recognised. The large car park.

Jenny changed her footsteps so they took her in that direction.

Running inside the car park she thought about the last time she saw this place. It was where she had come through all that time ago. She appeared higher than the top floor and fell; except she had appeared to the side of it and fell to the ground.

She ran up each ramp that took her to the top floor because the lift was basically a public urinal to most people and the stairs covered in needles.

With each step she took she felt the glass that was sticking out of her chest knock against two of her ribs as well as several other pieces increasing her agony. Jenny was intent on reaching the top for some reason which she wasn't quite sure of.

Maybe she felt that if she reached the top she'd fall through the rift again and end up back where she belonged; among the stars.

Jenny knew that wouldn't happen, deep in her head but the loss of blood was making her so confused that she could barely think straight.

She reached the top floor and ran to the edge. Looking over, she saw how far it was down and shuddered at the memory of falling that far.

She couldn't see the guy anywhere nearby so she turned and slid down the barrier until she was sat down with her legs in front of her and closed her eyes.

Gulping down air was extremely painful but seemed to be the only way to get enough oxygen to her aching limbs.

Her com began beeping again.

Slowly she reached up to her right ear and pressed the earpiece.

"Jack." She wheezed.

"There's been an explosion and you're late checking in again." He said firmly over the com. "Are you alright?"

A gun was cocked.

Jenny opened her eyes and saw the guy from outside the café stood before her holding a gun which was pointed at her chest.

"Jen?" Jack asked again.

"Tell him you're fine." Said the guy. Jenny hesitated. "I've tried to kill you twice already. You really think I won't shoot you?"

"Jen?"

"I'm at some multi-storey car park or something." Jenny said not taking her eyes off the end of the gun. "I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"You sound out of breath."

"Just been running. Bit of exercise, good for the heart." Jenny's heart was beating so fast and hard she thought it was about to explode.

"Well I want you back here now. It's not safe." Jenny was about to make a sarcastic remark when the guy pointing the gun at her chest shook his head. She swallowed it instead. "Did you hear me, Jen?"

"Toss it here." The guy instructed. "No funny business."

Jenny slowly reached up and removed the earpiece from her ear. As she did she could hear Jack shouting down the line but couldn't distinguish the words and didn't dare reply. She tossed it at her captor's feet who put out his foot and crushed it beneath his heel.

"Stand up."

Slowly, Jenny shifted her weight and leaning against the barrier behind her, she hoisted herself to her feet. Her whole body was throbbing.

"I've blasted you twice." Said the guy and he didn't sound pleased. "You should be dead."

"What do you want we me to say?" she was almost laughing. "I'm so sorry I'm still alive, _and_ after you've killed so many people to try and kill me." She added sarcastically.

"Shut up." He pulled the trigger and he shot at the barrier just to her left causing her to jump. "Why aren't you dead?"

"Look," Jenny said stepping forward as she felt shooting pains up her left arm, "You and I both know where this is going-"

"Shut up!"

"-and I think I'm starting to have a heart attack here. Why not dispense with the small talk and just put me out of my misery?"

"I said shut up!" and he squeezed the trigger allowing two shots to go off.

The first one hit the barrier just to the left of Jenny's shoulder while the other didn't miss, hitting her in the shoulder and knocking her down.

He walked over to where she lay and nudged her in the side. She didn't move. He kicked her and still she didn't move.

"I will admit I lucked out with that shot." He said softly still pointing the gun at her chest. "But I bet you're still not dead. Just unconscious." He took his time aiming properly. He wasn't going to botch this up.

"You know," said a voice to the guy's side, "some people say that talking to yourself is the first sign of madness."

The guy turned and saw that it was another man. One who was taller than him wearing a red jacket with yellowing tassels and a pair of jeans with a couple of handguns and a sword hanging from belts round his waist. The most prominent feature of his appearance was the large shotgun he was cradling.

"Pleased to meet you." He continued. "I'd love to introduce myself but you seem a bit busy." He wasn't smiling as he spoke but sounded as though he was loving every moment. "Now as much as I'm sure killing that girl would make you feel better, I do doubt your ability to do that when you've been shot in the arm."

"But I haven't been shot in the arm." Jenny's attacker said sternly. The new man cocked the shotgun.

"Not yet." He taunted. "I suggest you get a move on out of here before I start testing a technique I've been learning where I should be able to shoot your arm off with just one bullet."

Jenny's attacker turned his gun on this new man.

"I can shoot you first." He said.

"I'm sure you can but, and I hate to be the one to tell you this darling, when it comes down to it," he lifted the shotgun and lined it up aiming for the centre of his prey's chest, "size _does_ matter."

They were stood there pointing their guns at each other. Until Jenny's attacker lowered his small handgun.

The new man lowered his shotgun.

"You did the right thing." He said. "Now run along."

The attacker slowly walked towards the exit.

"Pick up the pace." The man lifted his shotgun and let off one shot that fell just short of the attacker's heels causing him to run.

As Jenny's attacker ran off, the new man knelt down to check out Jenny. He placed his shotgun on the tarmac, checked out her body and took her wrist strap off.

"Well," he said, "this is another fine mess you've got into." He picked up the shotgun again and attached it to one of his belts on his back leaving his hands free which he used to scoop her up.

"And once again it's John who has to fish you out." He jiggled her about trying to find a way to carry her without pushing glass further into her.

"I'm afraid we're going to have to take the long way to our destination because we can't use the wrist straps." He started walking to the exit of the exit.

"Come on."

_Next: Bleeding Harts of the World Reunited_


	7. Bleeding Harts of the World Reunited

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes: **I've done more chapters than I anticipated so far but it works. This means the plot is taking longer than originally intended but hopefully it isn't making the fic too thin. I'm still working on the next chapter and apologise for the more than likely time between this one and the next in advance. Good and bad reviews are welcome and wanted.

**Chapter Seven: Bleeding Harts of the World Reunited**

John washed his hands in the deep-panned sink. Glancing over his shoulder at Jenny lying on the floor he laughed.

"Just like old times, eh?" he said.

She didn't reply as she was unconscious. It was no surprise. She had shards of glass sticking out of parts of her body, a bullet in her shoulder and was bleeding heavily.

They were in one of the giant abandoned warehouses down by the docks. John was an old workshop sink with a deep pan. Luckily it was still working. Jenny was on an old surgical trolley he'd found on his way over so he wouldn't have to bend over.

John grabbed a grubby towel he'd also found and used it to dry his hands.

"I told you that shotgun would come in handy someday." He chuckled.

He dumped the towel on the floor and carefully removed his coat laying it on the floor.

Approaching the trolley he said, "You know, I'm almost glad you're unconscious. Because I'm no doctor. And this is not gonna be pretty."

John was planning to remove the glass from her and let her…ability take care of the wounds. Not that he could anything about them anyway.

He grabbed the piece of glass that was sticking out of her chest and pulled. It didn't move so he pulled again. Still it didn't budge so he gripped hard and gently began to move it from side to side so as to wiggle it out.

As he lifted it he could feel the glass cutting into his hands and the warm trickle of his own blood going over his fingers.

After about twenty minutes struggle, John had successfully removed it from Jenny's chest. He stepped back and threw the shard to his left.

It flew through the air and landed about twelve feet away, shattering into a hundred smaller pieces that skittered across the cold concrete floor before lying covered in their blood.

John went on in this manner and lost track of how much time he was taking. He threw each piece of glass away letting it smash. He almost made a competition out of it, seeing how far he could throw each piece and if he could throw the next piece further than the last.

Finally, after a long struggle, John had removed all of the glass shards from his 'patient'. Afterwards he checked where some of the first shards had been and already they had healed up.

Lifting her up, he kicked the trolley out from underneath her causing it to roll across the warehouse. When it was clear he lowered Jenny onto the floor.

"There you are." John said as he went to the warehouse wall and sat down. "I think you're putting on a bit of weight." He held his hands out in front of him and breathed in through his teeth. "How am I goin to pick up a cute guy with my supple hands like this?" he asked Jenny's unmoving form. He leant his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. "How am I going to caress him when every time I touch him my hands scream bloody agony?"

"You'll find some way around it." Came a reply. John grinned. She was conscious

"Welcome back." He said. "I got your message."

"I was afraid you wouldn't answer." John's eyes snapped open and he lifted his head.

"Don't you think that." He ordered. "Don't you ever think that." He pointed at Jenny. "I gave you my word that if you were in trouble and you called that I would help."

"And you did."

"Yeah, I did." He said settling back again.

Jenny opened her eyes as she began to become more aware of her limbs and the excruciating pain within her body.

"Best not move just yet." John called to her. "You're still…healing."

Jenny ignored him and tried to sit up. Leaning forward she was sat upright and looked over at the lazy figure of John. Instinctively her hand jumped to her wrist.

"Where's my-?"

"I didn't want anyone to find us." John explained. "I don't have mine either." He waved his wrists at her. "See?"

"But where is it?"

"It's with mine in my inside pocket." Jenny was still in enough pain to put her off moving to get it so she decided to trust him.

"So," continued John, "what did that guy want with you?"

"No idea." Jenny shrugged. "But he seems pretty obsessed with trying to kill me."

"Hm." He said. "I wonder why."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." John said. "It's just that, if I remember right, a lot of people have tried to kill you."

"Excuse me. But more than half of the people who tried to kill me have also tried to kill you at some point or another."

"And how many of them have succeeded in either case?"

"None."

"Absolutely."

"And how many of them did you wake up with the next morning? All of them?"

"No!" John yelled sitting up. "Three-quarters of them."

"Thankfully some things never change." Jenny laughed. "By the way. Who don't you want to find us?"

* * *

"She's not there." Said Jack. He and his co-workers were searching the map of Cardiff projected by his wrist strap.

"Check again." Said Martha.

"I have. She's not on the map." He pressed a button and it disappeared. They were in his office and he was stood behind his desk while the others were standing around the edges of the room.

"I knew we couldn't trust her." Said Gwen with her arms folded and shaking her head. "She's most likely teleported out. She could be anywhere."

"Not necessarily." Said Ianto. Everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Jenny mentioned that the wrist strap ran off of body. She might just have taken it off."

"Why would she do that?" said Martha.

"There was something wrong with her during that last phone call." Said Jack. "Mickey."

"Yeah."

"I need you to go through that call with a fine tooth comb." Mickey nodded and went to his workstation.

"What are you thinking, Jack?" asked Gwen.

"Something isn't right." He replied. "What did Rhys say again?"

"A girl with brown was running away from the scene of the explosion."

"Do you think it's her?" Gwen nodded.

"You know there are plenty of brown-haired girls in Cardiff." Pointed out Martha.

"Well, yes." Agreed Gwen. "Except he said she had a large scar on her cheek. Like the skin had been removed."

"That'll be Jen then." Said Ianto.

"But that's not all. He said she was bleeding heavily and almost collapsed before running off again."

"She was breathless when I called." Said Jack. "She told me she's went running."

"Jack!" called Mickey. Jack pointed to the door and Gwen, Martha and Ianto went through it closely followed by Jack himself.

"What you got?" he said as he got to Mickey's workstation.

"Here's the original." Mickey played the recording of Jack and Jenny talking while the others listened. When he finished he turned to them. "I noticed that she takes a long pause before saying where she is. So I took that part and amplified the silent parts." He tapped at his keyboard and brought up a new recording. "Listen to this." He played the edited clip.

"Are you alright?" said the recording in Jack's voice.

Click!

"Jen?"

"Tell him you're fine." Said an unknown voice. All of them looked at each other. "I've tried to kill you twice already. You really think I won't shoot you?"

Mickey stopped the recording.

"She wasn't alone." Said Jack.

Mickey shook his head. "Nope."

"Wait, what was that noise, that click?" asked Gwen.

"Best guess. It was a gun being cocked."

"Then she was being held at gunpoint?" Asked Ianto.

"She said she was at a car park." Said Jack. "We can start there."

* * *

John smiled as Jenny laughed. He had moved closer to Jenny but she was still in the same place. When she stopped laughing, Jenny heaved a big sigh.

"That was fun." She chuckled.

"For you maybe." said John. "To this day I don't know if what I was kissing was a mouth or an arse."

"Ah, but your face." Jenny said shaking her head. "Priceless."

John stood up and stretched, trying to shake out the dead leg he had developed while sat against the wall.

"So how you been doing?"

"Alright, I s'pose. Been travellin' mainly."

"So how'd you end up here?"

"Well, you know the rift? I fell through about 6 months ago."

"You fell through? Where were you?"

"I was playing poker in a nice, well stingy, place on Carsoon."

"In the Cadoba system?" Jenny nodded.

"And I was winning."

"Did you cheat?"

"No!" she laughed. "Not this hand anyway."

"Ain't that always the way." John joked.

A silence fell between them where they looked at each other.

"You were with someone last night weren't you?" said Jenny. "That's why you were late." John didn't answer but he looked guilty. "Another fling, no doubt."

"Actually we developed a…deep and…meaningful relationship."

"What was their name?" John paused.

"Hotel boy?" he guessed.

"Yeah. Deep and meaningful. Just like Swamp boy and Random Ship girl." Jenny said sarcastically.

"Now that's not fai-" Before John could finish the door at the far end of the warehouse burst open letting light flood in.

Both Jenny and John put up their arms to stop the light and let them see who was coming in.

"Jenny!" came a yelling voice.

"Jenny?" said John.

Five figures ran into the warehouse but the sudden light after the darkness made it difficult to see who it was. Two of them grabbed John who instinctively began to fight back before a third person smacked him across the face causing him to stagger. The third person then pointed a gun at his face.

"Why am I not surprised to find you here?" said a familiar welsh voice.

Jenny blinked the sunlight out of her eyes and saw that it was Gwen. Holding John was Ianto and Mickey while Jack was just to the side and Martha was making her way to Jenny.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I'm fine." Jenny brushed her away. "What the hell are doing?"

"Hey." Said John looking between Martha and Mickey. "New team mates. She's nice, so's he." He grinned. "Now you know me. I'm a sucker for a pair of baby blues," he glanced at Jack and Gwen, "but there's nothing wrong with a bit of chocolate in your diet." He winked at Martha and would have winked at Mickey but he was being held so it was difficult to turn.

"John!" yelled Jenny. "Not the time!"

"Why are you trying to kill, Jenny?" Jack said.

"Who?"

"Can I shoot him, Jack?" asked Gwen.

"Now hang on." Said Jenny beginning to get up. "He actually- aah!" She grabbed her left shoulder and almost bent double as a sharp pain pierced her left shoulder.

Martha grabbed her before she fell down and held her up.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"She was shot in the shoulder." Said John. "Now excuse me for not being a doctor but I didn't know what to do about it."

"Why would you shoot her and then think of a way to remove the bullet?"

"He wouldn't." said Jenny straightening herself and brushing Martha off her again. "He actually chased off the guy holding me at gunpoint. How did you do that by the way?"

John grinned widely. "With a bigger gun." He nodded to where the shotgun lay on the cold, hard grey floor. Everyone looked, Gwen not moving the gun from a couple of inches in front of John's nose. "I didn't try to kill her alright. So hows about letting me go?"

Mickey and Ianto looked to Jack who nodded. They let him go and he brushed himself down. He looked at the gun Gwen was holding to his face and cast a sideways glance at Jack.

"Gwen." Jack said. Gwen looked at Jack who shook his head and so she lowered her gun.

"So what are you doing here?" Jack said.

"I got a distress call from lady muck over there." He gestured at Jenny. "I answered. Like I said I would."

"How do you know, Jenny?" asked Martha.

"Who the hell is Jenny?" He looked at them.

"That'd be me." Said Jenny holding your hand.

"But that's not your name."

"None of them asked me what my name was. Except Sparky here." She nodded her head at Jack.

"His name's-"

"I know what his name is."

"So what's with Jenny?"

"It's a name they gave me. And when I say they I mean her." she pointed at Gwen, "Gave me a name. Gave me a place and in short said this is your new life, get on with it."

"Well that's not nice."

"I know."

Torchwood stood there unsure of what was happening. John and Jenny were talking as though the rest of them weren't there.

"Do you think they remember we're here?" said Mickey to the others.

"How the hell do they know each other?" asked Gwen.

"No idea." Said Jack.

"It's like they're old friends."

"Old like you're old or old known for a long time?" said Ianto.

"What's you name?" Martha called to Jenny.

Jenny turned and looked at the members of Torchwood stood staring at her and John.

"Excuse me?"

"What's your name?"

Jenny went to say a sarcastic comment when John put his hand on her shoulder.

"Melanie." Said John.

"Melanie. Nice name."

"Shame you never asked for it." Her voice was filled with spite.

"Melanie?" said Jack.

"Mel for short but yes. Melanie. God is there an echo in here?" Jack turned to John.

"Isn't that you're sister's name?"

"What?" said Mel.

"Uh Jack. Ix-nay on the ister-say." John said through a fake smile. "Please."

"Did John tell you abou-? Did you," she turned to John, "tell him about me?"

"It may have come up."

"What the hell were you thinking?" Mel yelled. "You dick!"

"Hey! We were stuck in a time loop for _five years_!"

"Well if I know you, and I'm pretty sure I do by now, you could talk about yourself for five _millennia_ without once mentioning me!"

"Oh! That is harsh!"

"I s'pose you told him about mum, too."

"You leave mum out of this!"

"Speaking of, don't think I didn't notice!" Melanie pointed at the shotgun still on the floor. "What the hell is that doing here?"

"Look, it's not the one you think. It's another one."

"Mum only had one! Which she used to try and _kill_ us!"

"STOP!"

John and Melanie stopped and turned. Martha walked forward and stood between them.

"That is enough!" she said at them. "It may have slipped your mind but there is some… explosion causing maniac on the streets of Cardiff looking to kill one of you and while we're here Melanie is in danger."

"She started it." Said John.

"Shut up." Spat Mel.

"Stop it! We need to get Melanie back to the hub. Right, Jack?" she looked to Jack who nodded.

"Hang on." said Gwen. "We won't all fit in the car."

"I don't care if she hates me right now but Mel is going nowhere without me." John stated. "And there is no way she is putting her wrist strap back on."

"He found me before I got it back." Melanie said.

"I don't care." John yelled. He reached into his pocket and pulled his wrist strap and put it on. "She can teleport back with me while you take your precious car."

"That'll only work if you two stop fighting for now." Martha said.

John held out his wrist while Mel looked daggers at him. He shook his wrist.

"Fine." Said Melanie, reluctantly placing her hand on the wrist strap.

"See you there." Said Jack. John pushed a button and they were both teleported out.

* * *

John and Melanie rematerialised in the hub. Both of them were accustomed to the headaches and joint stiffness that came with teleportation.

Mel took her hand off John's wrist and took a deep breath. Then she drew her arm back and punched John – smack – across the jaw. The force of the punch sent John staggering.

"You bastard!" she shouted in his face as loud as she could.

John straightened himself as Mel angrily headed towards Jack's office.

"Where are you going?" he called after her.

"To get the rest of my stuff!" she yelled behind her.

John couldn't help feeling that he didn't deserve this kind of treatment. He felt something cold creep down his chin. Putting his hand up to his mouth he drew it away and realised he was bleeding.

"Fuck. I'm bleeding. You made me bleed." He yelled after her receding back. "You bitch!"

Mel didn't answer but instead stuck her middle finger up at him without turning round.

_Next: Kiss and Make Up_

**A/N: How Torchwood tracked Jenny is in the next chapter. It isn't a plot hole. I swear.**


	8. Kiss and Make Up

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's notes: **the truth about 'Jenny' is finally out but the story isn't over yet. Please read and review. Enjoy.

**Chapter eight: Kiss and Make up**

It was about twenty minutes before Jack and the others turned up and after a short discussion they decided it might be best to keep the siblings separate for the foreseeable future.

"What do we do in the meantime?" said Mickey looking at Jack who was stood at the head of the boardroom table. Jack brushed his hand through his hair.

"I don't know." He said shaking his head.

"We help them." Jack looked up and saw Gwen facing him.

"No."

"This isn't like the people taken by the rift. We can help them."

"I said no."

"It's your fault this is happening."

"My fault?" Gwen nodded.

"If you hadn't run off and left us then maybe we could have dealt with Melanie properly in the first place."

"So you're blaming me?"

"Strictly speaking," interrupted Ianto, "it's Torchwood's fault this is happening and we ought to sort this out." Jack turned to Ianto.

"Then what do you suggest we do."

"We won't be able to do anything until they stop fighting." Said Martha.

"There you go then." Said Gwen pointing at Martha. "We stop them fighting."

Jack laughed.

"We are an organisation that collect and hoards alien technology using it to protect the world and you want us to stop two siblings fighting?"

"They could know something that could help us find this guy who's trying to kill Melanie." Said Martha.

Jack looked at Martha and Gwen. He could see their point but they could be doing something useful like keeping an eye out for rift or alien activity instead of sorting out a Hart family feud.

"You know John, Jack." Continued Gwen. "He'll talk to you. And me and Martha know what it's like to be Melanie's age so we can relate to her."

Jack still wasn't sure but at least it was a plan which was more than he had.

"Well I don't care what you think." Gwen stood. "You weren't here when Melanie fell through the rift. I was in charge at that point and I am responsible for her case and I'm going to talk to her."

Jack said nothing. She was right.

"You seem to forget Jack. Melanie may be a Time Agent from some far off century, she may have fallen through the rift and she may be John Hart's little sister but she's still a girl lost in a place she doesn't know."

Gwen breathed out to signify that she was finished. She then turned around and left the boardroom leaving an uneasy silence in her wake. The boardroom door shoomed shut behind her and Jack sat down putting his head in his hands.

Looking up he saw Mickey, Martha and Ianto looking at him for guidance.

"Go with her." He told Martha. "You know the most about families out of all of us."

Martha smiled and gently stood up before walking out although leaving a slightly friendlier atmosphere than Gwen.

* * *

Gwen walked into Jack's office where Melanie was stood at his desk rooting around in the box of her things. She didn't move as Gwen entered.

"Hey." Gwen said nervously staying near the door. If there was one thing Gwen remembered about being a teenager it was that she packed quite a punch. If Mel was going to kick off it was best to have easy access to the nearest exit.

Mel groaned to acknowledge Gwen's presence.

"You looking for something?"

"Yeah." Mel didn't even pause in her rummaging.

"What is it?"

"Nothing." Gwen paused and watched Mel pick out what resembled a sword hilt and swing it round a bit.

"Sorry, what?"

"It's nothing of your business and even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

"Need a hand?" Gwen turned and saw the welcoming face of Martha smiling at her and joining her at the door.

"I just don't know what to do." Gwen whispered.

"Let me start us off, then," said Mel picking up something that resembled a hair dryer. She turned around and leant back against the desk, "since you're just brimming with ideas."

Martha and Gwen glanced at each other in puzzlement.

"I didn't have on my wrist strap, my comms unit was destroyed and you didn't know John was about. How the hell did you find us?" she folded her arms and patiently waited for an answer.

"Well," said Gwen timidly, "we traced the last call to the multi-storey car park and found your crushed comms unit." Mel nodded as Gwen spoke which she found unnerving. "We also found splashes of blood on the ground and figured that whoever was there with you would take you somewhere where they could finish you off or something without being disturbed or leaving too big a mess."

"The obvious choice was one of the big abandoned warehouses near where we found you." continued Martha.

"So you just burst into each of them hoping to find some weirdo stood over my bleeding corpse?"

Gwen and Martha didn't say anything. Thinking about it they probably were hoping to find that as a group.

"I see." Said Mel nodding. "Nice."

* * *

John examined his cut jaw in his reflection in the weapons room between Gwen's workstation and the interrogation room. It wasn't deep and the bleeding had even stopped before the others had come back, yet it still hurt. He wasn't sure if it was because Melanie had hit him really hard or because _Melanie_ had hit him.

"You alright?" said a voice from his left and he turned, his hand still on his chin, to see Ianto stood a short way off.

"Just a graze, eye-candy." He lied returning to his reflection. "Did Jack send you?"

"No." John turned to Ianto again. "He really ought to be here but doesn't seem…" he coughed, "…ready to do that just yet. And I thought you really oughtn't be alone."

John smiled.

"Thanks." John once again returned to his reflection and moved his hair about. "There we are." He turned to Ianto and put his hands in his pockets. "What d'ya think? Handsome or what?"

"Nice to see you haven't become vain since we last parted." Said Ianto sarcastically.

"Where is she?" John asked, his smile disappearing.

"Still in Jack's office." John sighed and rubbed his neck. "She seems pretty angry."

"Great. Now not only is my ex annoyed with me but my little sister too."

"Not much of a people person are you?" John stared at Ianto.

"Really not helping."

"Sorry." Ianto sounded apologetic but didn't look it. "Maybe, if Jack isn't willing to come up here, you should go down to him."

John paused in contemplation. He didn't know how Mel felt right now and part of him was afraid that she may come back out and smack him again, and blood red didn't always suit him.

"Maybe I should."

* * *

Jack leant back in his chair. Recently, it seemed nothing could happen to him without John Hart turning up.

Whenever John turned up turmoil followed and it seemed it wasn't a trait that stuck with the males of the family. This had been months in the making and he could never have stopped it. Because he wasn't there.

It was almost as if every time he turned around he found a consequence for his search for a cure to his immortality.

Mickey sat towards the other end of the table in silence. He hadn't been working at Torchwood long but he'd found most of the time he was out of his depth when it came to working with people/aliens.

Martha was new too but she'd worked here before _and _travelled with the doctor for longer than him. It wasn't that he wasn't good at doing the work Jack asked him to do but he was the new guy. Even John, who doesn't work for Torchwood, appeared to fit in better than Mickey felt he sometimes did.

The boardroom door opened. John strode in looking less cocky than when he'd first done it. He sat down in the chair opposite Mickey and put his legs up on the table. Ianto came in shortly after and rather than sitting down stood by the end chair closest to the door.

"It's nice to finally meet the family." Jack remarked.

"I'd hoped you might be supportive." John said sarcastically.

A silence fell between the four men as Jack and John kept looking at each other.

'God they're obsessed.' Thought Ianto.

Mickey looked between the two of them. He'd been told a bit about John before but Gwen and Ianto skimped a bit on the details, like the fact that Jack and John had a bit of a history. Basically what he'd been told was John Hart was the kind of man who'd sleep with your daughters _and_ your sons before leaving a trail of destruction behind him.

"Why she's angry at you?" he said innocently.

"Oh. We are not going there." John said throwing a glance at Mickey before returning to Jack.

"Do you know how long she'll be mad at you for?" asked Jack.

"Not really." John answered. "When Mel gets mad, she gets really mad." He put a finger out to stop them. "And I don't mean, I'm so mad I'm goin to shout at you for a bit and say things I don't really mean before turning around and forgiving you for everything, kinda mad." He used a demeaning little girl-like voice saying that to show how ridiculous an idea that was before using his normal voice again. "I mean, I'm so mad that I could rip your heart and lungs out, ram them down your throat and leave you, choking on them, to dissolve in a storm of acid rain, kinda mad."

"That was horrifyingly specific." Said Ianto.

"Has she done that before?" Jack asked. John bit his lip and nodded.

"Once." He breathed out, shuddering at the memory.

"I can imagine." Said Mickey.

"No you can't." John shook his head. "But I will tell you that it weren't pretty."

Ianto, Jack and Mickey sat there in unnerved silence. While John just watched them.

"If there's one thing that I have noticed about when Mel gets mad at someone, it's that she goes through different stages."

"And those are?" asked Jack.

"Denial. Juvenile arguments. Aggression."

"That explains the bleeding jaw." John smiled weakly.

"You always did know how to make me feel beautiful." He said with all the sarcasm he could be bothered to muster. "Anyway, aggression. Blanking. Communication through others. Blame and guilt trip." He counted them off on his fingers. "If she is still mad at this point _then_ she rips them, that is to say me, to shreds."

"Where would you say she is now then?"

"Considering that she hasn't spoken to me since she hit me, I think it's safe to presume that she's blanking me."

* * *

"Why are you so mad at him?" asked Martha.

Melanie had resumed going through the box which she had said contained 'her whole life'. She didn't stop when Martha asked her the question about John.

"Melanie?"

"I think she heard you Martha." Said Gwen. Then she lowered her voice. "When I was a teenager I used to pretend people I was angry with didn't exist."

"I'm not a teenager!" Mel said. "And I am not pretending he doesn't exist." She turned round and Martha and Gwen noticed that she was holding something that looked like a small circular egg.

"What's that?"

"Mine." Mel said putting it down on the desk beside the box. "I'm just so mad at him."

"But why?" said Martha. "I've got a brother and a sister but we've never had an argument like this one."

"Well it's our first one."

"What is it about?" Mel breathed in and out to calm herself down a bit.

"Years ago, before John had met Jack, when there was only three or four years between me and John, we were going out into the universe, heading in our own directions." Mel began. "He said we had to swear not to tell anyone we had a sibling. That way, if we screwed them over and ripped them off they wouldn't go after the other sibling to try and get their revenge and hurt us through each other."

"And you're angry because you've found he told Jack?"

"Jack won't hurt you." said Gwen.

"Oh no, I know that. That's not what I'm angry about." She folded her arms and leant back against the desk. "I saw John again after that. He couldn't stop talking about this guy he'd met on an assignment. How he was amazing, beautiful, loving, caring and so on.

"Now I know what John can be like around certain people. I mean, like he said, he's a sucker for a pair of baby blues and I know what he's like when he's stuck in a time loop for too long."

Gwen opened her mouth to ask how she knew but Mel stopped her.

"Trust me, Pepperpot," she said, "you do _not_ want to know. Some things are better left unsaid.

"Anyway, I know what John can be like so I ask him if there is any chance he told this guy about me and he insists he never said a word about me. That guy, I now know, was Jack.

"John lied to me about not telling Jack, which means there is a chance he told other people, ones he ripped off. This leads me to the conclusion that this psycho trying to kill me now could be trying to kill me to get back at John." Mel sighed. "And I don't like to think that about him."

* * *

"Lying to your family is not a good thing to do mate." Said Mickey. John glared at Mickey.

"Thanks mate." He said sarcastically. "That probably saved me a bleeding jaw."

"Sorry." Mickey whispered.

"So what did you tell Jack?" asked Ianto. Jack looked at them confused.

"Um hello right here." He said putting his hands up.

"Nothing really." John ignored Jack. "I just told him I had a sister and her name was Melanie."

"Hang on." Jack said. Then he just put up his hands before he let them slam to the table in defeat. They had obviously forgotten that he was there.

"Anything about your mother?" joined in Mickey.

* * *

"We don't talk about mum." Said Mel forcefully and turned back to the box as if to say that was it in the matter.

"You're joking." Said Gwen, shocked.

"Not even to each other?" asked Martha.

"No! I'm not joking!" Mel shouted at them turning back to them. "No! Not even to each other!" she looked between them, her face going red. "I don't care how many people he's told about me! We don't talk about that…that…woman no matter what!" Gwen and Martha were shocked into silence and Melanie was taking deep breathes to replace the ones she had lost during this rant at them. "We've put that behind us." She said in a calmer voice.

Mel turned again to the box where she continued her 'treasure hunt' for the item that was beyond her grasp. And, just at that point, it occurred to Gwen that the box Mel was rummaging through wasn't all that big. If she hadn't found what she was looking for by now she wouldn't find it at all.

Then Gwen noticed that she wasn't looking through it this time, more moving things about so as to look too busy for talk.

Mel stepped back from the box. She threw her hands up in defeat.

"I can't find it." She said in frustration, placing her hands on the desk either side of the box and leaning against them. She took a deep breath before letting it out. Slowly she turned around.

Mel looked at the girls opposite her. Her eyes flicked between both their faces almost as if she was sizing them up, comparing them in every aspect, before resting on Martha.

"Martha." She said slowly. She chose her words carefully because at times like this it mattered. "Would you mind doing me a favour?"

* * *

Down in the boardroom the boys had made little progress and then, eventually, they'd asked Jack what John had told him. However this proved not very useful as it yielded no clue as to why Mel was so mad.

The doors swished open and in walked Martha wearing an attempted smile which looked likely to slip at any moment.

John was facing away from the doors but the moment he heard them opening, quick as a flash, he took his feet off the table and turned round even though he knew it couldn't be Mel.

"Can we help you, Martha?" asked Jack.

"Actually," said Martha her eyes flicking to her side, "I have a question for John." John was so shocked that he stood up.

"What is it?" he asked. The tension in the room was so high it was practically electrifying the air.

"Mel wants to know if she could borrow your laser-knife."

"What?" said John, slightly disappointed and also confused. "Why can't she use hers?" Martha pointed at him.

"She said you'd ask that. Then she went into this story which I didn't understand but what I did get was it was something to do with a girl and a well." Everyone in the room stared at her, all their eyes saying 'that's all you could get out from it'.

"She rambled on about so much and most of it blended together." Martha said in defence from the looks. "But can she borrow yours?"

"Hmm… oh sure." He began searching his pockets before eventually taking a knife hilt from just inside his sleeve and handed it to Martha. "There you go."

Martha took it and smiled, nodding a thank you at him before walking out the boardroom again. John watched her arse as she walked but was unnoticed by the others.

"Well," said Mickey once Martha had been gone a couple of minutes, "it seems she's moved onto 'communication through others' with you."

John sat down and put his feet back up on the table and leant back.

"It's better than that." He said grinning wildly.

"Why?" asked Jack. He wasn't smiling. When John usually smiled it wasn't good but he'd never seen this smile before.

"Think about it, she has Gwen and Martha up there." He began to explain. "She can send either to ask for it, but she sends Martha." He paused hoping that the others would pick up on it but they didn't so he continued. "She knows I know Gwen and sends me down something new to look at."

"I think you're looking into this a bit much." Said Ianto.

"Ah. But you don't know Mel like I know her. She's still angry but she's forgiven me at the same time."

"That makes no sense."

"I just hope she just doesn't have any silly ideas planned with that laser knife."

"She's a Hart not a hero." Said John confidently settling down in the chair. "She won't do anything."

* * *

"I want to go back to my flat." Mel said after Martha had returned with the laser knife.

"What?"

"I have stuff there." She said. "Clean clothes for one thing. Food for another."

"We can get you food and clothes here." Said Gwen.

"But you can't get my food and clothes." She said. "And there is not a snowball's chance in hell that I am letting you lot into my flat without me."

"But he'll come after you." said Martha. Mel laughed.

"I'm counting on that." She said. "Think about it. I'm who he's after. We could lay a trap for him."

"No way." Said Gwen. "I'm not putting you in danger like that."

"Then don't." Mel moved toward the door. "With you or without, I'm doing it."

Martha and Gwen stood so they blocked the doorway and Mel's only means of escape.

"We're not going to let you go." Said Martha.

"You see, I had a feeling you might say that." Said Mel. As she spoke, Mel slowly reached into her box. "And I'm sorry to have to use this." Quick as a flash, she whipped out of the box an eighteenth century pistol and aimed it first at Martha and then Gwen.

"See thing is," Mel said looking between them, "only one bullet. I could shoot one of you and while the other tends to the wounded I could make my escape." Martha and Gwen were watching the gun as it switched between them. "Then again I could shoot the doctor," Mel stopped the gun before Martha's face, "that would make it harder to stop it and give me even more time."

The way that Mel was talking it was like she was reasoning with herself about what to do rather than telling Gwen and Martha.

"Bitch." Hissed Gwen.

"Pepperpot." Mel said calmly not moving her eyes from the middle of Martha's forehead. "I am holding one of your colleagues at gunpoint, I have a bullet stuck in my shoulder giving me grief and have just discovered that all the 'bullies' who used to call my brother a liar when we were kids living in the Western Province of Jarcus were right about him all along." She paused for breath. "Do you really think that _now_ is the time to be calling me names?"

Gwen held her tongue. Inside she was cursing and screaming but she remained quiet, afraid that she'd only make the situation worse.

Mel indicated with the gun, not moving it from Martha's forehead, that they should move out of the way. Slowly they did with their hands raised in surrender.

"At least let me get that bullet out of you first." Begged Martha as Mel winced at the pain that shot through her shoulder. Martha stepped forward but Mel pushed the gun closer to her face.

"Dr. Jones." She said, slightly out of breath. "I managed to survive over thirteen months with a bullet that sent a shock through my body every two hours lodged in my stomach. I'm fairly certain that I can survive a couple more hours with a regular bullet in my shoulder."

"You can't do this." Blurted Gwen. "We tried to help you."

"Yeah, and you did a great job at that didn't ya?" Mel said. "I am sick and tired of you people telling me what I can and can't do." she was shaking with a mixture of anger and fear. "Since I got here, you have all ruined my life. I tried to build a new one and almost everyone I know is now dead."

"We didn't know this was going to happen." Martha said trying to ignore the fact that Mel's finger on the trigger was beginning to tighten.

Mel began to shake her head.

"Look, I am leaving." She said as a final statement. "If _anyone_ follows me, I will shoot them. And that is a promise."

Mel didn't lower the gun as she sidled past them and left through the door. Once she was out of the Jack's office she ran for the flood gate. Glimpsing behind her she saw that Gwen and Martha hadn't moved from the office to warn anyone yet.

Once the gate was open she slowly walked into the lift. No need to rush. She thought. They wouldn't follow her after that.

_Next: Memories_


	9. Memories

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did

**Author's Notes:** sorry for the delay but here is the next chapter in Two Harts. I finally got it how I like it and now it's here for all to see. Please enjoy.

**Extra note: **Can't believe that no one picked up on the continuity problem. I said that John hotwired the car, leaving the keys behind and later he uses the key to lock the car. It's right now. Hopefully.

**Beta reader:** InsanityamI (thanks a lot)

**Chapter nine: Memories**

_He ran through the parvin trees laughing. They were only four feet high but still taller than him even though his mummy always told him he was tall for his age. He was eight years old and he had a dorky little sister who was four. She barely came up to his shoulder but she followed him everywhere and it really annoyed him._

"_John!" came her voice through the trees. "John! Wait!"_

_She couldn't run as fast as him either and it made him laugh to see her struggle to keep up._

_He loved playing among the Parvin trees because of their colour and the way it changed with the weather. Best of all the smell they made made him think of space._

"_One day," he'd told his father, "I'm going to go out and I'm going to see everything."_

_This had made his father laugh long and hard but he was too small at the time to take offence and he'd joined in with the laughter._

"_John!" he heard his sister calling again. "Wait John!"_

_John laughed and leant forward to make himself go faster. He would leave her alone and she would cry. He loved it when she cried because her face went all red and swelled up like a balloon._

_Before he knew it, he came out of the grove and saw the city which was two miles away. He stopped and watched it; watched all the spaceships come and go carrying people to other places and bringing other people here._

'_Why would they want to come here?" he thought. 'There's nothing here.'_

"_John!" yelled his sister again. "Where are you?"_

_He had half a mind to call her to see the ships but thought it would be more fun to let her find her way through the parvin trees._

_He glanced down at his watch that his mummy had bought for his last birthday. She'd had it imported from the finest watch makers in the galaxy. The dial was pure enamel with a thin layer of wood for each of the hands and a black needle for the second hand._

_It was nearly time for him and his sister to be home and if they were late then mummy wouldn't be happy. She very rarely seemed happy nowadays. He blamed his sister._

"_Mel!" he yelled. "I'm over here!"_

"_I'm comin'!" she yelled back._

"_We're goin' to be late!"_

"_I'm comin'! I'm comin'! I'm-oof" she burst through the last of the parvin trees and knocked him over landing on him._

"_You stupid idiot." He shouted. "Get off me."_

"_Sorry." She stammered getting up. "Sorry."_

_He looked at his watch again._

"_Oh no!" he shouted grabbing his sister's hand. "We're gonna be late!" He ran alongside all the parvin trees with his sister trailing by his hand. She struggled to keep up but he barely let her feet touch the ground, he ran that fast and eventually they got home._

_Mummy was mad._

* * *

John jerked the steering wheel to the left narrowly missing a young kid and their pet dog. He'd already come so close to causing thirteen road accidents within the last ten minutes but he still didn't care.

He'd managed to sneak out after Gwen and Martha had burst in the boardroom talking about his little sister, Melanie, running off with a plan to set a trap for the maniac trying to kill her.

"Why didn't you stop her?" Jack had said.

"You think we didn't try to?" Gwen had retorted angrily.

John didn't know what happened after that as he'd silently snuck out while they were distracted. Thinking about it, the chocolate boy might have seen him go but he hadn't said anything.

Upstairs, John had thought about hotwiring the SUV but he really didn't have time. Luckily he'd found the keys behind the desk in the tourist information point. Now he was driving wildly around the streets of Cardiff.

He wasn't sure what he hoped to achieve. It wasn't as if would just come across her on the street.

Then one of the screens by the steering wheel began flashing and a beeping noise came from it.

John glanced at it but snapped his eyes back onto the road, not that it improved his driving.

He had seen that it said, 'INCOMING CALL' and then two options below it said 'ACCEPT' and 'IGNORE'.

Captain Hart didn't see why he had to press a button to ignore a call and just continued driving. Thing is the noise kept going and began to annoy him so he pressed 'ACCEPT' knowing what was coming.

"What are you doing, John?" came an angry voice. Jack.

"What do you think I'm doing?" he yelled at the screen, not sure where he had to speak to be heard.

"Something that isn't like you."

"Jack," John heard Gwen's voice say in the background, "we're getting reports of a black SUV nearly running down people around every twenty metres."

"John!" yelled Jack. "At least drive better."

"My first car Jack." He said back. John swerved to avoid an oncoming car. "I'm used to something a bit more complicated."

"What do you plan to do?" Jack said a bit more calmly. "If it were anyone else you'd leave them for dead. Why is it different for Melanie?"

"She's my sister."

"How is that different?"

"It just is, Jack!" John shouted taking a sharp right turn. "It just is!" The voice over the phone went silent.

John slowed down and began breathing a bit easier.

"Come on, Jack! We both know that if it was you and Gray that you would do exactly the same thing!"

Jack still didn't say anything but John knew that he'd won. Jack had felt so guilty about letting go of Gray's hand and if there was any way that he could have saved Gray he would do it.

John could almost see Jack's sorrowful face as he was reminded of Gray and it made him hate himself. He hated bringing up Gray because it always made Jack sad and a sad Jack wasn't as pretty as a happy one. Also the love he felt for Jack made him feel even more angry at himself for bringing it up. John wouldn't have brought up Gray but it was the only way he could make Jack understand.

"Now you can sit there and lecture me about how I was doing so well with kicking the habit of stealing or you can help me out and give me Mel's address." He said clearly across the phone as he narrowly missed another pedestrian.

* * *

_He sat on his small thin camp bed hugging his knees to his chest. His sister was missing and mum was out looking for her. If mum found her then she'd make Mel pay._

_She'd recently turned ten years old which left only three years between them until his birthday in four months. He'd always blamed her for everything because it was easy. Like when the parvin tree grove was burnt down a year and a half ago leaving nothing but the smell of space behind, he said it was all her fault for not playing properly in there._

_There was a knock on the door but he stayed where he was, rooted by guilt, listening to the low buzz that rode the air. Slowly the door creaked open and Dad's face appeared round the door._

_He was tall, with a thin face and black hair. His most striking feature was the two blue eyes that were set equal distances from either side of his nose. Mum wasn't beautiful at all, she had thick matted browny-black hair that she never washed and a big swelled up face that pushed the hair out the way making her look like a big hairy blowfish._

_Dad always said he could have any thing he wanted in the universe. So how, he wondered did Dad end up with mum?_

_He remained on the bed as Dad came in and sat on it. Dad was dressed simply, just a shirt and trousers. Not like he normally dressed at all but it didn't matter._

_Neither of them said anything for a while, just sat there listening to the buzzing which had now become no more than a hypnotic hum._

"_It's alright." Dad said smiling. "Your mother will find her." Dad lost his smile because he also knew what Mum would do if she found Mel._

"_It's my fault." He sobbed to Dad. Dad moved closer to him and stroked his hair._

"_No it's not."_

"_Yes it is." His eyes stung with tears that tried to fall but he forced them back. "I told her that you didn't love her." He gulped. "I said you and mum hated her and she should just leave and we could be happy."_

_He buried his face in his arm and let the tears flow but he didn't cry out. He heard Dad sigh._

"_Look, John." Dad said. Dad didn't sound angry so he looked over his arm, his vision blurred by the tears. "I understand that it wasn't easy for you getting a little sister. Someone coming out of nowhere and taking all the attention of your parents, hanging off you like a dead body but you shouldn't say things like that to Melanie." _

"_I know." He choked as Dad stroked his hair. "I didn't think she'd actually run away."_

"_John." Dad said again. "You need to be nice to your sister."_

"_But why?"_

"_One day she's gonna need help and I'm not gonna be there. And neither's your mother. Hopefully." he added under his breath. "One day, you're going to be all she has in the universe." Dad paused to ensure his words were sinking in. "She'll need _you_. And you need to be there."_

"_But what if I'm not?"_

_Dad laughed._

"_Trust me, John. When close family _need_ you, you're always there."_

* * *

John shut the SUV door behind him and pressed the keys. The car locked itself. He waited but after a few seconds he turned.

"They need a beeper." He said under his breath.

He turned back and looked at his destination. It was a series of small flats in a very poor area of Cardiff. It was Kracknell Street and Melanie's 'house' was number 32 on the eastern side of the street.

As John walked up to the front door a McDonalds BigMac carton was blown past his feet. Looking at the door of number 32, he noticed it wasn't shut properly. Using one finger he pushed it and it swung open letting him see through into the hallway.

It was quite clean, no dirt, no muck, no random clothes tossed any which way, he noted as he stepped inside.

'Mel mustn't like it here.' He thought. 'It's too clean.'

There were two doors leading off the hallway. One at the far end that went into the kitchen, which he knew because he could see through into it as the door was open, and one on the left-hand side.

He grabbed the handle of the door and carefully opened it. He was slow because he didn't want to startle Mel, especially since his jaw still hurt a bit.

John stepped into it warily looking round the room as he came in. There were several luxuriously shiny furnishings: large screen television hanging off the wall; fancy computer tucked away in the corner; cordless phones scattered around the place with the hub they were supposed to rest on, on a table by his shins.

A gun was cocked behind him. Mel had hidden behind the door as he opened it and turning around he saw that she was pointing an eighteenth-century pistol at his face.

"Hey… Mel." He said nervously.

"I did say that I'd shoot _anyone_ who followed me." She said glaring at him. He didn't see her glare as he was busy keeping an eye on the trigger finger. John had bounced back from some bad things in his time but never a direct bullet to the face.

"I think I missed that bit."

"You ran out?" John nodded.

"Yeah kinda." Mel nodded slightly.

"Nice to know you care." John wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not so kept a straight face.

"Do you mind putting the gun down?" John suggested after a while.

"Wuss." Mel said lowering it. "Doesn't matter though." She threw it at him and he caught it. "Isn't even loaded."

"What?" John looked it over and found that Mel was right. There wasn't a ball-bearing bullet in the barrel as he thought there was when she'd had it at his face. "Why?

"That's the thing with being a Hart." Mel said pushing past him to sit on the worn-out armchair behind him. "You get so busy pissing off one half of the universe and trying to get the other half in bed that you rarely get the chance to stop off anywhere for bullets." She leant back. "How do you do it?"

She folded her arms but John didn't reply. He was assuming that the question was meant to be an insulting rhetorical question.

"I'm still angry with you." Mel stated.

"I understand." John said putting his hands up. "And that's part of the reason that I'm here. To say sorry."

"Part of?" Mel sat forward, intrigued. "Why else would you be here?"

"Well…to…I came to…you know." Even in the future, brothers and sisters checking if each other are alright is still embarrassing and difficult to admit to.

"I see." She saved John from having to explain any further. "Well I am fine as you can see. I'm not a baby, John. I don't need your help."

"Why do you always have to be like this?" John said sternly trying desperately to not groan aloud.

"Like what?"

"Like a child."

Mel laughed once. "Newsflash." She said holding up her hands. "We, unlike some people, travel through time. Hence, we age differently to your average human being. Meaning, although I am, technically speaking, twenty, what with all aforementioned travel I still have the mentality of a fifteen year-old girl."

Melanie sat back and folded her arms again.

"Conclusion?" she added, "It's more fun that way."

* * *

_He strolled down the bustling street and took in the mesmerizing mix of aromas, sights and smells that surrounded him. All of them sent his mind abuzz which merged with the hubbub around him._

_Stalls left, right and centre offered him everything from pet Krallblahs to a 'good time'. He declined everything, happy just to revel in the wonders that surrounded him._

_He was twenty-one now or thereabouts. The thing with time travelling is that there's no real concept as to how the traveller ages. He was older but he'd been to so many different times that it was impossible to determine his actual age._

_Market traders were all tugging at his coat, desperate to show this new stranger their wares but he shooed them all away and leaned against a pillar towards the North of the street._

_He watched the hustle and bustle, comings and goings of the street and grinned broadly. This was what he'd always dreamt of; getting out there and doing what he wanted._

_As he watched the movements of the people, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun round, his hand reaching instinctively for his pistol that his sister had bought him as a leaving present but saw that he was face-to-face with a beautiful young girl. Her skin was flawless with the healthy glow of the golden champagne he tasted on the third moon of Norkas while her shoulder-length white hair delicately framed her face._

_He moved his hand from his pistol._

"_Hello." She said._

"_Hi." He was in shock; he'd never seen anyone so…was beautiful the right word?_

"_Care to hear your fortune?"_

"_No thanks." He shook his head. "I don't believe in magic."_

_She tossed her hair slightly to her right. "I do not use magic, boy." She leant in to his ear; her breath hot on his neck. "I use science." She pulled back._

"_I don't know…" he began to back off._

"_I can tell you of your sister."_

"_What makes you think I have a sister?"_

"_You both come from Jarcus."_

"_Clever. Pick a planet and just by chance the sucker might be from there." He turned his back on her and began to walk away. "Bye."_

"_Leaving her behind was the most difficult thing you've done." He froze where he was._

"_What do you want to say?" he asked turning._

"_What you fear the most is that one day she won't need you."_

"_What do you want to say!" he shouted._

_The girl's mysterious smile slipped. He saw she was wearing a long white dress which was odd as everyone else in the street was wearing oranges or reds._

"_Jarcus has fallen to the reformed Kulkan Empire. All who live are captured aboard their prison vessel 98741-DT1. Your sister needs you now, John Hart."_

"_How do you know this?" John said. He didn't want to believe her and needed all the facts straight. "We're in the 95th century now and she's in the 51st."_

_The girl paused before speaking again. Her voice wasn't rushed but there was an urgency to her voice._

"_It is written that she will be raped and then killed within twenty-four hours unless you can reach her first."_

"_I thought we weren't allowed to mess with time."_

"_Not everything is written in stone."_

"_I think I've heard that before. Didn't I see that in The Library before it shut down?" John smiled. "That tv programme. The one made up by that guy. Oh what was his name? You know the one, Tim Kring or something; the one that later went on to start the campaign for peace in the Milky Way. Oh well."_

_He laughed and shrugged his shoulders. "This is a joke isn't it?" He stopped smiling. "It's not funny!"_

"_You can believe I am lying and then find her dead body yourself." The girl said turning to go. "Then the tears you shed shall truly burn."_

* * *

Melanie was leant against the broken ten-year-old cooker in her kitchen with her body facing slightly towards the open back door. It only led out onto a small alley-way that ran behind all the houses from number twenty-six down to number forty. The breeze that blew in was refreshing and cooled her face as she stood with her eyes closed.

"I'm not going back." She said for the seventieth time in six minutes. She'd kept repeating herself because John who was sat at the small square dining table was ignoring her argument.

"Give me one reason why not?" he said, trying to reason with her.

"I can give you several. One." She held up one finger "I hate that team and everything they've done to me since I first came across them. Two." She held up another finger. "Hiding in the bunker beneath the fountain while someone is after my blood is not the way I roll and you know it. Three. I prefer it here. It's my home and contains my things. Four. I know for a fact that you are desperate to ask me who out of those lot I would be willing to have a threesome with you with. Five-"

"Alright." John interrupted hastily. "Stop there." He breathed in and out in frustration. "Did you have an answer?" he asked trying to seem innocent.

"Homicidal maniac probably on his way here right now. Try to focus, John." Mel snapped.

"Oh." John said shaking his head. Mel looked at him and waited for the silence to begin to set in before she spoke again.

"I've told you and I can go on forever sayin' this. I'm not going back." Mel said again.

"Then what _are_ you gonna do?" he said.

"Catch him."

"And do you have a plan?"

"As a matter of fact, I do." Mel retorted. "And I think we could pull it off."

"We?"

"Ah, come on." She leant forward so she was leaning on the chair opposite John. "You didn't think I'd leave you out did you?"

"I dunno." John looked unsure.

"Come on. It'll be really dangerous." She said trying to tempt him. "With unbelievably high chances of certain death." She paused. "Like when we used took the piss out of mum."

A grin tugged at the corners of John's mouth but he still looked unsure.

"Come on." Mel grinned straightening up. "I'll tell you who I'd be willing to have a threesome with."

John smiled.

"What's the plan?"

_Next: Being Live Bait Hurts_


	10. Being Live Bait Hurts

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's Notes: **Sorry this took so long but hopefully you'll enjoy what I eventually managed to do with the story. I'm afraid this is going to be the last chapter of 2008 but there will be more in 2009. Think of this as a Christmas Present to the regular readers (and myself for finally finishing it) and a stocking filler for the newbies. for people reding this at another time this was published on 24th December 2008.

Please leave reviews so I can see how good/bad this fic is. Please!

**Beta'd by:** InsanityamI

**Chapter ten: Being Live Bait Hurts**

Mel walked through the streets of Cardiff heading in the general direction of the hospital. She'd decided to check on Dane in hospital and had called ahead to see if he was there. Thankfully, the nurse had told Mel that Dane was alive and in the hospital recovering with just a few minor scrapes and bruises.

She couldn't help but smile at that news. When the side of the café they'd been in had exploded on them she'd tried to keep the table of him and it seemed she'd succeeded in keeping him alive.

Constantly tempted to look over her shoulder to see if John was casually following her, Mel tried to focus on seeing Dane again.

For some reason she had been somewhat attracted to Dane when she'd first met him. Not in a way that she'd seen before. There had been something different about him, other than his off-hand way of speaking and his approach to life, which she couldn't put her finger on.

Mel didn't love him as Linda had once suggested when she voiced her uncertainty about him. No way. She was a Hart; a liar and a thief. She had been to drink, drug and murder rehab, which left her only one rehab shy of her brother's record. Harts never fall in love. They do the do then disappear. They don't fall in love.

But, Mel suddenly thought, John was in love with Jack. Sure he still screwed people over and 'loved' many men, women and aliens but a part of him always seemed to be stuck on what Jack might be doing now, ever since they'd met.

She shook her head to get rid of any thoughts that she loved Dane. True he did annoy her less than anyone else she'd met since she'd ended up here but he could be pretty annoying.

Melanie approached the front desk and asked the black-haired assistant where she could find Dane Jennings. Ward 26 Bed 3, she'd said.

She got into the lift, trying desperately not to think of the time she went to the abandoned hospital on New Earth. Parts of it had been blown to pieces decades before she'd got there. Chances were that this hospital would follow a similar fate if her recent luck was anything to go by.

The door pinged open and she walked out, not even caring if she was on the right floor. Mel glanced at the signs before her and followed the directions to Ward 26.

As she walked along, both sides were flanked with beds occupied by ill people.

Neither Mel nor John had ever liked ill people. Most of them get better and you can go on to celebrate with a pint of some alcohol, or in some galaxies kerosene, based beverage but every so often they'd go down and they wouldn't get back up.

Just because they screwed people over for money didn't make Harts heartless.

Mel walked through the final corridor before Ward 26 and tried desperately not to let her mind wander. She'd only think of things she didn't want to think of.

The ward spread out to the left of the corridor and had only six beds on it. The two beds which were closest to her were empty, the blue sheets pulled tight across them. A bed at the end had a young man of about twenty lying there staring aimlessly at the television on the TV trolley at the end of the bed. The other two beds had the curtains pulled round them to give the patient some privacy. The remaining bed had its curtain pulled across one side so it blocked the bed from view but as she walked closer she could see round it and saw the still figure of Dane in the bed.

He had tubes coming out of him every which way and a monitor beside him beeped out what seemed a reasonable heart rate. Then she noticed there was someone sat in a chair by the bed, his back to the curtain. He was faced towards Dane and seemed unaware that she was behind him.

"Sorry." She said regardless. "I didn't know he already had a visitor."

"He doesn't." the guy said without turning round.

"Then you must be the third Emperor of Hebrediaa 6 here to investigate before invasion." Mel said getting slightly annoyed.

"I'm here for _you_, Melanie." He said slowly standing up. He was obviously in no rush as he turned. "And I'm so much worse."

* * *

On a wall around the corner, John sat staring into space. Many people and even a poodle passed him by without being eyed up by John. Normally he would check out each of them and more often than not, flirt with them but not this time. It was something Jack had said.

_If it were anyone else you'd leave them for dead. Why is it different for Melanie?_

At the time, he'd said it was because she was family. Thinking about it though, he'd forsaken all other family: mum; dad; an accidental wife (don't ask); numerous partners but every time Mel called for help everything else would become secondary. He didn't understand it.

John leant back and rubbed his temple before running his hand down his face. Thinking was never good for him to do. There was one thing John knew and that was who he was and what he did. But thinking made him unsure.

"Oh well." He said to himself. "At least it keeps me on my toes."

* * *

He was stood there. It was him. The guy from outside the greasy spoon and on top of the multi-storey car park. Her would-be murderer with his brown hair spiked up with gel and wearing the same black trousers as he was when they last encountered each other. She'd lost track of time and didn't remember how long ago it was. He wasn't wearing his brown and grey jumper this time but wore a simple grey top with a red hoody tied round his waist.

It could have just been the fact that he wasn't trying to kill her yet but he seemed younger than she remembered, with a slighter face. Also she'd never got close enough to notice before but now she was, he had the most amazing eyes - A sort of clear but slightly clouded light blue like the sky on warm summer afternoons.

Like her brother, Mel had a weakness for blue eyes and it took almost all her strength to keep her from jumping him then and there. When she used to think of her dream guy he was who she'd always thought of. Pretty much the same in every detail.

"Wow." She said flustered. "You don't look like a murderer."

"That's weird." He replied unfazed. "Neither do you."

Mel clutched at her heart.

"Ouch." She said sarcastically. "It was painful when you shot me but _that _hurt."

"You should be dead."

"If I had sex with every person who told me that then… no wait…" she paused counting in her head, "I have had sex with everyone who told me that."

Mel laughed but he didn't change his disapproving look so it petered out.

"Well," she continued, "where are my manners?" she held out her hand. "I'm Melanie Dyroxbrah Hart."

"I know."

"Well I know you know, otherwise you wouldn't be trying to kill me." Mel said laughing weakly. "I simply said it in hope that you'd tell me yours. I now see it was a false hope." She let it hang in the air, waiting.

"I'm Josario."

"Finally." Mel said. "You see what we're doing now is communicating. Learning about each other."

"I already know about you and your _despicable_ family." Josario nearly spat it out.

"Now," she said pointing at him accusingly, "no matter how much you hate and want to kill me, there's no need for language like that."

Josario looked into Mel's eyes and a look flashed across his face. It lasted only a split second but Mel recognised it instantly. It matched the same expression she was suppressing; a cocky smile with a hint of instant affection. It seemed he'd been too busy trying to kill Mel to realise how she looked.

"You're trying to kill me." She observed.

He didn't say anything and his face remained stony as she spoke.

"You're not doing very well are you?"

"Yet." He added simply. Mel silently agreed with him. It would only take one time to get it done.

"Why d'you think that is?" she taunted.

"Is it really wise to take the piss out of the person who's trying to kill you?" Josario said bluntly. "I'm sure you're brother wouldn't do that."

"I've three things to say to that." Mel started. "One. I'm _Melanie_ Hart. Taking the piss out of people is what I do. Two. You're not likely to attack me in a _public_ hospital when you're standing just there." She pointed at his feet. "S'too obvious and would directly implicate you. See I know that because you're trying to kill me by thinking like me but you obviously didn't count on me figuring that out and being able to take advantage of this and taking the piss."

"What?"

"And three." Mel continued. "How do you know I have a brother?"

"I told you that I know your family." She looked at him.

"Right." She simply said to begin with. "Thing is lots of people 'know' my family but no one and I mean _no one_ knows I have a brother."

Josario stood there and didn't answer. Mel shivered. His silence and look sent a shiver down her spine. It was hard to be cocky when she had nothing to be cocky against. She took in a breath.

"Fine." She said walking past him towards the way out. He didn't move to stop her.

"I know where you're going." He said. "You think I wouldn't see him following you?"

Mel stopped in her tracks. Josario tuned.

"By all means go to him. Please do. So I can follow you and shoot you in the back. Then he can watch you die in his arms. Just like I had to."

Mel turned slowly.

"What?"

Josario pulled out a gun and pointed it at Mel's chest. She didn't flinch or scream as he had hoped. She was too much like John.

"Just go." He said. "I want this over with."

"Want what over?" Mel said. "I can't help feeling that I'm getting only half the story here."

"Move!"

"Move?!" she scoffed. "From the one place I know you're not going to shoot me?! Are you stupid?"

"Shut up!" Mel obliged. He held the gun up level with his shoulder and it was just about level with her shoulders. Tears began to well up in his eyes but still she stood; unmoving; unfeeling.

"We both know you're not going to use that here." She said looking him straight in the eyes. "So you may as well put it down."

His hand began to shake holding the gun up. Slowly he began to lower it.

"You know," Mel said, "maybe you and I can get along somehow."

Josario shook his head.

"You're probably right." Mel nodded. "I could never be friends with someone so stupid. Bye!"

Unnoticed she had slowly walked back and when in line with the exiting corridor she waved and ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, taking the first corridor to her left.

"Shit." He muttered.

* * *

Josario strode out the hospital, the gun safely hidden within the inside pocket of the jacket. He had a nearly uncontrollable urge to rush, but no need to. He would find her again and sure enough he saw her running out the car park. Thinking about it, it was odd that he'd already caught up with her, still he focused on the task at hand. He broke into a run desperate not to lose her as she turned out of view.

He ran quickly and skilfully. Having spent months training himself to kill this girl he wasn't willing to let her escape that easily. As he had learnt, he tried to anticipate where she would go.

Somewhere easy to locate, somewhere they both knew. Mel's house was too obvious, they'd definitely would avoid there. Then his mouth spread into a smile as she turned another corner. Josario slowed and gently stopped as her destination became clear.

* * *

Mel sprinted up the road that led to the third floor of the car park. Her breathing was becoming shallow and her chest was becoming tight. She couldn't go for much longer but she had to reach the top floor. She had to.

Struggling up the last few meters she reached the top floor and staggered the twenty meters or so to get to the barrier before grabbing it and bending double to try and get her breath back. Sliding down the barrier she saw Josario approaching from the stairway, half way along the top floor.

He approached her slowly, having no need to rush as she had nowhere to run. The only thing that broke the tense silence was Mel's heavy breathing.

"Tired?" asked Josario casually.

Mel paused. "Not really." The girl stood up and stopped breathing so heavily.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked again not moving.

"If I took the time to stop and ask myself that question, less than one tenth of the things I've done would never have happened." She smiled cockily.

She gazed into his eyes trying to figure out what he was going to do. He simply shrugged and in one swift movement removed the gun from his inside pocket again and cocked it.

"Aah." Mel said, her voice going a bit higher than she had intended. "You're going to shoot me, aren't you?"

"Why d'you care?" he said lining up for the shot. "I thought you hated everything about this planet."

"Ah. Now you see," Mel said pointing at him and keeping an eye on the gun, "that's true. I do hate everything about this planet. That is to say I hate almost everything about this planet. One thing that I happen to love very much is a film. Most of them aren't worth a flickton's arse, trust me, but this one film is great, I mean really great." Mel babbled. "It's called 'Back to the Future Part II' right and I mean how many times have I used that phrase, huh. But in it there's this kid who has a friend with a car, a beautiful car, that's a time machine. The kid has to go to the future to stop something bad happening to his kids that he has with a girl that he's not actually with yet. Then some bad guy from the future goes to the past, I mean the old past and changes something which changes the present so the kid has to change the past again to change the present and the future back to the way it should have been in the first place which he does."

Mel stopped for a breath and Josario interrupted.

"Does this have a point?"

"Yes." She said beaming. She hoisted herself up so she was sat on the barrier. "At one point in the movie the kid is on a high roof and the bad guy is holding a gun at him ready to kill him. It comes out that the bad guy killed the kid's dad in this reality and he's about to shoot the kid when the kid steps off the roof and we all think he's dead but then he rises up into front of the bad guy," she laughed, "and it turns out that he landed on the beautiful car which can fly and travel in time."

Mel stood up straight and held her hands out for balance.

"I always wandered," she continued, "if it would happen every time some kid jumped off a roof."

"You're mad."

"Wanna test the theory?" Josario shook his head.

"You're doing my job for me."

"Let's try it." Her eyes flashed as she took a step back and stepped into the air.

_Next: Answers_


	11. Answers

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's Notes: **Real sorry for the long wait but I kept getting stuck with this fic and unable to move it forward. Don't expect another update too soon as I'm off for a week with no writing taking place at all but please don't forget to review if you have the time as all are helpfull thanks.

**Chapter eleven: Answers**

"Shit!" mumbled Josario. A girl he'd been tracking had just stepped backwards off the barrier on the top floor of a multi-storey car park.

He froze on the tarmac and waited for the splat. He waited and waited. His brow furrowed as it never came. Surely she would have hit the ground by now.

Slowly he walked to the barrier where she had been, when he heard a footstep behind him. Swinging round he held the gun out in front of him and came to face John Hart.

John was smiling broadly and Josario saw that he too was holding a gun which he lowered.

Josario began to feel his legs go limp and looked down at his chest. A small flashing diode was sticking out of him. He fell to his knees and watched John continue to smile.

His eyes fluttered as he fought against the chemical coursing through his body. He tried to raise his gun again but his arms were both so limp and useless now that it just fell out of his hands. Josario could only watch as John kneeled and looked him in the eyes.

At last, Josario could fight it no more; his body went completely limp and he fell to the floor.

Slowly John raised his hand, waved it twice and said, "Nighty night."

* * *

Mel struggled to keep her balance as she stood on the barrier on the top floor of a multi-storey car park. She talked to Josario trying to keep him busy while keeping her cool. She prayed that her idea would work as, without hesitation, she stepped back.

As she fell she hooked her fingers onto the barrier of the floor below the top and desperately tried not to cry out as all her fingers were pulled out their sockets. Although with difficulty, she quickly lifted herself up and over the barrier and collapsed.

She was alive.

Listening she heard the sound of the traffic on the roads, birds singing in trees and some, presumably drunk, guy a few streets away shouting something weird and random. If there was anything she'd thought she'd never be happy to hear, it was Wales.

Glancing down at her hands, she saw they were red where she'd caught the barrier as she fell. Clenching her hands into fists, she felt and heard each joint crack back into place. She hastily flexed her fingers several times to clear the pain quicker.

"Never done that before." She said.

She heaved herself to her feet. Slowly she made her way to the ramp. She went slowly because if Josario was still conscious he couldn't see her again; not yet.

Coming up the ramp, she saw John knelt next to her attacker. He stood up as she approached.

"Don't know him." He said in a matter-of-fact way. "Never met him in my life." He turned and saw Mel was looking at him disbelievingly. He placed his right hand on his heart and raised his left into the air. "I swear."

"So what now?"

"What do you mean 'What now'?" John said. "It's your plan."

"Well I never thought it would work. I thought I was gonna be dead by now, to be frank."

"Ooh." Said John. Mel turned. "Why would you want to be Frank?" he laughed but she was clearly confused. "Remember 'Uncle' Frank." He waited. "Drunk 'Uncle' Frank." he asked. "You don't remember drunk 'Uncle' Frank who got married to that nonopuss creature from the Vermine quadrant?" Mel was still clueless "You were a bridesmaid!"

"Oh!" gasped Mel as she remembered. "Oh God!"

"Yeah!" John grinned.

"Oh. I can remember that horrific dress."

"Which one?" John asked. "Yours or mine?" He kept grinning as Mel laughed.

"You looked so beautiful!"

"Who ever thought that dressing us in matching tangerine dresses was a good idea, was very much mistaken." John put his arm round his little sister's shoulder. "Thank God there's no longer any evidence of the event."

"Oh I dunno." Mel said, smiling cheekily. John instantly stopped grinning and looked at Mel, worried. "I'm sure I could dig out a few old photos or holo-vids."

He took his arm from round her shoulder.

"What?"

"I'm sure Jack would love to see them." She laughed as John's face showed his 'enthusiasm' for this suggestion. "Jesus, John. I don't really have any."

"Promise?"

She rolled her eyes. "God, you're gullible."

Finally her attention turned back to Josario splayed out on the tarmac.

"How long will that tranquilliser last?" John asked her, noticing where she was looking.

"Dunno. What setting was it on?"

"Um…" he looked at the gun. "…squiggle, dash, square?" he looked up at her. "Where did you get this?"

"Stole it from a guy… um… I want to say I met him in the Dallas galaxy."

"You don't know."

"Oh and I suppose you remember absolutely everyone you've ever stolen from ever."

"That's different." He insisted. "I have more to remember than you. Anyway," he held up the gun, "squiggle, dash, square."

"Um… yeah. That's the angry mob setting."

"The angry mob setting?" he lowered the gun again.

"What?" she said defensively. "I can't understand the language so I tested it out and noted what each setting could deal with.

"So you found out that squiggle, dash, square means angry mob?" Mel nodded. "Big angry mob?"

"Don't think so." She said shaking her head. "How long has he been out?"

"Too long for me to feel comfortable about just standing here chatting. But what can we do with him?"

"I dunno. He's been trying to kill me."

"Really?" John said sarcastically. "I had no idea." Eventually he sighed "I think there's a few pairs of deadlock-sealing handcuffs in the back of the SUV."

* * *

John was stood behind the SUV a few floors below where he' taken down Mel's attacker. He'd moved it there after leaving Mel's flat as per her plan. He'd opened the back of the SUV and was currently rummaging through various items hidden back there.

"They seem to have an awful amount of junk in here." He called to Mel. She was stood just to the side of the car, watching him sort through various things. He picked up a small, silver, cylindrical object and held it before him, turning it so he could see it in the light. Mel's eyes light up with recognition.

"I've seen that before." She said.

"Where?"

"306th century. I looked the wrong way at a Ferger and next thing I know I'm prisoner on a transport starship forced to fight for my life. It's nothing major, just an electrified, fighting stick."

"I _know_ what it is." John sneered throwing it back into the mess he'd created in the back. "How's our friend?" he nodded to the back where they'd put Josario after successfully handcuffing him.

"Sleeping like a baby. I might have to change squiggle, dash, square to 'angry mob and homicidal maniac'." John laughed and stood back from the car.

"If only we knew what to do with him." They stood in silent thought for a few moments until Mel's face lit up.

"Torchwood."

"What?"

"Take him to Torchwood." John looked at her puzzled.

"Why?"

"Do _you_ wanna interrogate him? Come on, John. Think about it. We want to know why he's trying to kill me and they want to know what he's used to kill people. They're gonna want to interrogate him." John glared at his little sister. He could see her point but wasn't quite convinced. "Saves us a job. And you get an excuse to see Jack again."

"Fine." He said slamming the boot door closed and taking out the keys for the SUV. Almost instantly, Mel snatched them from him.

"I'm driving." She stated.

"Why?"

"Because I have a driving licence, I'm the safer driver and, in short, you can't drive." She strode to the driver's side of the car and climbed in.

John, reluctantly, went round to the passenger side and climbed in.

* * *

Gwen watched Josario through the clear plastic of the cell. She had tried to interview him in the interrogation room but, with no way to restrain him, he'd repeatedly attacked her. Therefore, after being knocked out by Jack, he'd been moved to the holding cells and was being interviewed through the wall.

"Why did you try to kill her?" said Gwen for the twentieth time.

Josario gave her the same response. He said nothing. He just stood there glaring at her, in a quite unnerving way. She turned to Jack who was stood just inside the door.

"I don't think we're going to get anything." Jack nodded. That much was quite clear. "Maybe if Melanie was to ask him."

"No." said John. He was stood in the doorway with his arms crossed while he leant on the frame.

"It's just, he might respo-"

"No."

"If she can-"

"No!" his eyes burned fiercely showing that he wasn't going to change his mind on the matter. "She's not coming down here."

Gwen turned to Jack, surely he would agree with her. But, much to her annoyance, he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Well I don't know what you expect me to do with him!" she stormed out in anger.

John didn't move as Jack turned to look at him.

"She's not coming down here." He said again.

"I know." Jack replied. There was no point arguing it with John. "Maybe you could talk to him."

"And say what?" Jack shrugged.

"I dunno. What do you want him to say?"

John glanced sideways and caught Jack looking at him like he'd seen many times before. He knew Jack didn't want his team involved in a Hart affair but this look hammered it home. It was a look of hatred.

"Alright." He slowly walked over to cell and peered inside as one might if visiting a mental institution. "Hello."

Josario was now sat in one of the corners facing the opposite wall. He didn't turn, thinking it was Gwen again. Upon seeing John, however, he turned and sat, still in the corner glaring at his visitor.

"Who are you?" he asked. The boy's voice went straight through him.

"My name is John." Josario's mouth turned up at the corners.

"I knew you would come."

"Why did you know that?"

"She said you would." His smile hadn't changed but there was now a cruelness to it.

"Who?"

"You don't know me. Do you?" his eyes flared and before John could reply that he didn't Josario continued. "You unholy bastard! You devil's cretin!"

"What?" said John. "Who are you?"

"I bet you remember Yolanda!" his voice was still in the same monotone but there was something creepy about what he was saying. "I'll bet you look back and laugh at the moment you shot her."

"Yolanda?" that name seemed familiar.

"My sister." Still Josario's voice was calm but it had turned up the intensity of the atmosphere no end. "You killed her and then ran off after that diamond."

"Oh." John remembered her now. Yolanda was the woman who'd conjured up the rift storm getting rid of that fake diamond. The one that had led him here.

"She'd set a trap for you and I lived in happiness that she had not died in vain. That your blood had been spilled." He tilted his head and his mouth erupted into a full size malicious grin. "That's when _she_ found me."

"Who found you?"

"She told me you'd lived. And I vowed that I would not rest until you were dead."

"So why go after my sister then?"

"She told me that I wouldn't have to. That she would kill you." Josario's grin teased John and his elusion of the question infuriated him. "All I had to do was find you and draw you here."

"Who? Who told you all this?" John went forward and slammed his hands against the wall.

"She said I should make a rift storm to bring your sister here. That I should attack her. That you'd turn up." Josario knew that he was annoying the hell out of John and was playing it for all it was worth. Besides he needed to keep him here as long as possible. "She gave me the tech to go about my task. It's really all smoke and mirrors, no harm at all."

"Who is this?" John asked. This boy was giving him nothing, getting him nowhere. Why were he and Melanie still here? "Who told you all this?" Josario stood up and placed his hands against the wall so that they mimicked John's but his stance was calm and relaxed.

"You already know who it is." He teased. "She is the one who can take down whole galactic empires."

"What?"

"She is the one who brought down the Time Agency."

"No." As the fear in John's eyes and on his face grew, Josario relished every moment of it.

"Her name strikes fear into the hearts of millions." John stepped back.

"You're lying!" he shouted.

"What is it, John?" asked Jack, striding over.

"Even yours."

"Shut up!"

"She is the one who will tear this planet apart. Who will destroy this world and take you from the wreckage and make you suffer horrors beyond even _your_ imagination."

"Stop it!" He slammed against the wall again.

"John!" Jack barked placing his hand on John's shoulder. He paid him no attention and Jack was starting to worry. Nothing he knew had never made him act like this; ever.

"Hers is the name which you run from. She is the reason you never stop. She is the fate which you fear."

"NO!"

"Nurlana is coming!"

_Next: Trapped_


	12. Trapped

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's Notes:** sorry that this chapter took so long but I've had a bit of trouble with writer's block problems with how to end it. Hopefully it's all good and readable now. Reviews are wanted and welcome.

**Chapter twelve: Trapped**

Mel clenched her teeth to stop the pain. After much discussion it had been decided that it would be best if Martha removed the bullet from her shoulder. Personally she would've been fine with it staying in there. It didn't hurt unless she held her arms at a certain angle. Then again, she had healed around it already and it was quite weird as she felt her flesh brush against it each time she moved.

She was laid out in the autopsy room on a cold steel trolley, gripping the edges while Martha worked to scoop the tiny nuisance from her shoulder. She'd refused anaesthetic as she'd been through enough pain in the last few days and a bit more would hardly kill her.

John in the meantime was down by the cells with Gwen and Jack and her would-be murderer, no doubt giving him hell. Then again for all she knew John could be chatting him up. Not that she blamed him.

"So you're John's sister?" Martha asked. "I would have asked sooner but, well, we've all been a bit busy."

"Yeah." Mel laughed as she remembered all that she'd been through recently. "I suppose."

"What's that like? Being John's sister, I mean."

"It's no biggie." Mel shrugged.

"Really?" Mel nodded.

"Us meeting up like this is a rarity. We only do it every once in a while." Her fingers turned white as Martha brushed something that sent a shiver of pain through her causing her to clench the trolley. "And we don't do it for long."

"Why's that?"

"No reason."

Martha had finished now and was sewing up the shoulder now. She was about to try and get more out of Mel when there was a commotion outside in the main area. Gwen shouted and Ianto cried out in pain. Seconds later John burst in and stood in the viewing area.

"Heya, big man." Called Mel with a smile on her face. "What's the word?"

"Trouble." It was then that Jack burst in behind John and stood facing him. "Big trouble."

"I'm sure it's nothing we can't handle!" she winked cheekily as her smile grew into a grin.

"John!" Jack demanded. "What does he mean, 'Nurlana is coming'?"

"What?" Mel sat up suddenly, ignoring the pang of pain which ran through her. The grin was gone instantly, replaced by a look of fear.

"I'm not done." Martha protested but Mel waved her off.

"If I just heard what I think I just heard, my shoulder is the least of my worries." She said sternly. "Did I hear right?"

"He says he works for Nurlana." Said John.

"Well, we can teleport out. Can't we?" She began to punch at her wrist strap as she slid off the trolley. John shook his head.

"I've tried. She's already blocked them. We're in trouble."

"No shit, Sherlock!" Mel ripped her wrist strap off and threw it at him. She ran up the stairs out into the main area, shoving Jack with her shoulder as she passed him.

"What is going on?" Jack demanded. He turned to John only to find he'd already run after his sister. Following them, he saw Gwen had jumped, or been pushed, out of the way as the Harts passed. She was now on the sofa just to the right of Jack while Mickey was at his workstation, Martha was appearing just behind him and Ianto was at the entrance to Jack's office holding a cup of coffee.

Mel hadn't got very far before John reached forward and grabbed her wrist. With a flick, he pulled her back and swung her round so that she was facing him. There was a pause as they stood there facing each other. She brought her free hand up and smacked him across the face with a deafening SMACK! Martha inhaled sharply.

Although he reeled from the slap he didn't let go of her so she slapped him again. His cheek was starting to go bright red but he still didn't let go.

"Are you done?" he asked simply. He wasn't angry or impatient, quite the opposite actually. His voice seemed genuinely caring, as though he could stand to go being hit another few times. Mel slapped him again.

"Stop!" said Martha.

"It's alright." Said John even though his cheek was screaming bloody murder. None of them understood. She had to do this. It was her way of dealing.

John braced himself as Mel raised her hand again but this time it wasn't as hard. It still hurt but not as much and as he gazed into Mel's eyes he saw why. She did it again and again but each time it wasn't as hard as the time before.

'Any second now.' He thought watching her carefully.

The next time she hit him he barely felt it and she began to slump forward. He reached out with the arm which he wasn't using to hold her and curled it around her as she fell onto him.

"That's it." John said reassuringly. He let go of her wrist and pulled her into an embrace. Her head drooped onto his shoulder and he felt her knees begin to buckle.

Melanie went limp in her brother's arms. She was terrified and he knew it. That was why he'd let her slap him over and over again. Slowly, he lowered himself and his sister onto the floor where they knelt in an awkward hug. He felt Melanie's shoulder's shake beneath his arms as she sobbed silently. She'd been right. She acted all full of bravado but really she had the exact-same mentality she had when she was fifteen.

"What just happened?" Mickey asked.

"We got careless." Said John quietly.

"What's that means?" Jack said; he was still a bit angry that John wasn't answering him.

"I wasn't talking to you." John replied simply.

Jack opened his mouth to ask who he was talking to but stopped when Martha put a hand on his shoulder.

"Is she crying?" She asked quietly.

Turning to the pile that was John and Melanie, he noticed that the curled up figure of Mel was shaking slightly.

For a few awkward moments everyone stayed where they were. Gwen settled into the sofa and Ianto placed down Jack's coffee but apart from some uneasy shuffling that was all the movement. All the Torchwood team's eyes were transfixed on the two Harts sat on the floor.

"She won't get us." John said eventually. There was no question as to whom this was directed at. He spoke with confidence but Jack recognised a shakiness in his voice. "I won't let her."

Melanie pulled away from her brother's chest but not from his reassuring embrace. Gwen noticed that even though she'd been crying her face was dry.

"What you gonna do?" Mel said. "Tell her to go away?" She wasn't smiling and her face was very solemn. "'Cus I remember how that worked for you last time."

"So I got a little bit cut up. It was no big de-"

"A little cut up? It was believed you'd suffered permanent brain damage and you'd never walk again! The nurses on New Earth had carved you a grave stone within one hour of you turning up! They were seriously tempted to put you down!"

"That explains a lot." Mumbled Jack.

"Yeah but I'm older now." John still didn't raise his voice but he grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. He had to reassure her things would be alright. "Wiser."

Jack choked on a laugh but John ignored him.

"We're stuck." John nodded.

"We're stuck on Earth. We're stuck in this time. That's a whole lot of planet to look through." He stood up and pulled Mel to her feet. "We've got time."

He pulled his hands away from her and stood there as Mel took in a long breath and let it out.

"Great." Said Jack. "Now that the family's all better, how about you explain to me what the hell is going on?"

"Who's Nurlana?" said Gwen.

"Think of the worst thing imaginable." Said John turning round. "A being that will destroy every single thing it sees for no other reason than it's there."

"Like a Dalek?" Said Mickey.

"A Dalek?" said Mel. "Fuck no!"

"Language!" said John.

"Bite me!" she spat. "Daleks only interests are in conquest. Being supreme rulers of everything in existence. Nurlana is someone who likes to set things on fire just to watch it all burn."

"You mean that metaphorically, right?" said Ianto.

"If only."

"So what does this have to do with you two?" said Martha.

"It's complicated." Said John.

"So explain it." Jack said plainly. John ran a hand through his hair as he thought of how to approach it.

"Nurlana and us go back."

Mel walked forward so that she was stood next to John and facing the five from Torchwood.

"Way back." She said. "We've known her all our lives."

"She was alright to begin with but things sort of disintegrated."

"It happened gradually, real slow like. I don't even remember when she finally lost it."

"Bad things happened to her. I mean her life had never been a barrel of laughs but things only ever got worse."

"She lost everything. Eventually we were all she had left."

"One day she just snapped; figured it was all our fault."

"I wonder why!" Jack muttered under his breath.

"John had left by now, travelling. But Nurlana didn't care." Mel swallowed at the memory. "She sold out the whole of our home planet. Everyone was captured and tortured; made into slaves or concubines for the amusement of our oppressors."

John turned to his sister in shock. "That was Nurlana?"

"Come on. You'd always suspected it was her. John showed up in time to stop anything truly bad happening to me but practically everyone else was dead already. That or sold on to other races for meat."

"God." Martha said, her mouth opened in horror.

"Josario said you run from her name." Jack said quietly.

"We've had a few skirmishes with her since then and it has _always_ ended badly." John continued. "In our first one a whole species died trying to protect us."

"That was when we decided we should split up." Mel picked up. "I mean, do you know how many millions of Mel and John Harts there are in the whole of time and space? We figured it would be harder to track us if we weren't together."

"Is that why you screw with people?" asked Gwen. "Push them away so they don't get hurt?"

John and Mel looked at each other.

"Um…sort of." Said Mel.

"We generally do that because it's fun." Added John and Mel nodded in agreement.

"Typical." Gwen snorted.

"But if Nurlana is coming to Earth then you're all in big trouble." John continued.

"Why would we be in trouble if she's coming to kill you?" asked Ianto.

"Jack." John turned to his former lover in desperation. "You heard what Josario said."

"She is the one who will tear this planet apart." He remembered.

"How about if we give you two to her?" asked Mickey. "Will she just leave us alone?" Jack shook his head.

"He said she'd pull them from the wreckage."

"See." Said Mel, pointing around at everyone. "She won't be content just getting us. She'll destroy everything and everyone she comes across." She glanced round at everyone fiddling with something in her pocket. "She's going to get here and I am not gonna be here when she does." Looking at John, she whipped out the small circular egg like device that she'd put into her pocket while rummaging through her stuff earlier and squeezed it.

Then, in a glow of blue, she was gone.

"Mel!" yelled John. "Melanie!"

"What was that?" Martha exclaimed as John looked round in desperation. Jack had moved and grabbed John by the shoulders.

"You have to calm down." He said firmly. John tried to squirm out of his grip but he held tight.

"How can I calm down?" John yelled in his face before finally pulling free of his grip. "Nurlana is coming here! That's if she isn't here already! And nothing will stop her!"

"We are gonna try!" Jack yelled. All the faces in the room were looking at him in shock. He had never seen John like this; even when he'd had a bomb placed on him by Jack's brother he'd been calm and collected. Whatever was coming it was going to be big.

"And what are you gonna do Jack?" John was calmer now but there was a definite shakiness of fear in his voice.

Looking around at the others, their faces were all asking the same question. What were they going to do?

Jack looked at each of them in turn before his eyes settled on John.

"Well, first of all," he said calmly, "We've got to hide you."

_Next: Hidden_


	13. Hidden

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's Notes:** Big shout out to Lady Spike who's story Doppelganger was a huge inspiration while writing this chapter. Well it was more I got stuck and then I read Doppelganger and I knew how I wanted the story to progress. Give it a read peeps. Read & review. Enjoy

**Chapter Thirteen: Hidden**

Tony Charters had a date with Destiny.

No matter how many times he said or thought it, it was impossible to believe. He had a date with Destiny Winters.

He'd met her when out a bar one night about a week ago and they'd really sparked. She was bright and funny while secretly harbouring an intelligent and witty side. He'd asked for her number and called her a couple of days later. Ecstatic as he was though, part of him felt like he was betraying Ella.

Ella had been his school sweetheart. They'd been in love since they first met at school, been married in London and had moved to Cardiff three years ago for a change of scenery. Things had been great for them.

When he used to come home, Ella would greet him with a hug and a kiss. The smell of dinner would drift in from the dining room and they'd sit and share a wonderful meal. She would ask about his day and they'd discuss plans for the weekend. Then they'd spend the evening before the telly discussing the latest goings on in whatever soap was her favourite at that present time.

But that didn't happen anymore. Ella wasn't there when he came home. Meals became quiet and lonely and television seemed pointless. About six months ago she went missing; packed her bags and left. At least that's what must have happened. There wasn't a break-in, wasn't a sign of a struggle. All her clothes had gone, all the stupid little ornaments she used to waste money on collecting, even the cat she'd insisted on buying. All of the pictures too, each and every one of them vanished without a trace. It had all disappeared the day she was gone, even the ones on his mobile. Nothing left to remember her by.

She'd never been found. No trace of his Ella Brand anywhere in the UK and she couldn't be tracked abroad. He needed to face facts. Ella was gone. He could move on.

Entering his apartment, his attention was caught by the beeping of his answer machine and, closing the front door he continued into the living room. He pressed play before continuing into the kitchen.

"Hello Tony." the machine said in a welsh voice. "It's Ianto here. It's that time of the month again, I'm afraid. If you could turn up at eight that would be fantastic. I'll see you later."

Ianto was all that was left of his life with Ella. An old friend of the family, Ianto had been Tony's best man and when they'd moved to Cardiff, Ianto had just received a promotion to Cardiff. He was a good friend who now worked at the information centre down by the bay.

When Tony had been down, it was Ianto who had suggested a bit of manual labour to take his mind off his troubles; so once a month he would help with some hauling down at the info point. He could never remember what he did while there but Ianto was always saying how much of a help it was for him and he owed Ianto that much.

The only problem was now he couldn't make his date with Miss Winters. Regretfully he picked up the phone and dialled in her number. It was such a shame.

* * *

Walking into the information shop where Ianto worked, Tony shook the cold away.

"Terrible weather we've got." He said cheerily while Ianto shut and locked the door. "Mind you, I'll soon warm up, won't I?" Turning round he felt Ianto's hand on his shoulder and a slight prick in his neck.

"Sorry mate." He heard Ianto say.

"What the he-?" He began to ask but almost straight away the sedative set in and the last thing he remembered was his head hitting the floor.

* * *

"Tony!" he could hear a voice saying. It wasn't one he recognised yet it was familiar. "Tony!"

Slowly he was coming to and when he was able to see fuzzy blurs he could make out someone stood right in front of him.

"Tony!" said the voice again. It was American.

"Whe-where am I?" he asked sluggishly. "Who are you?" he could make out the figure of a man more clearly now. He was wearing a blue shirt and a pair of trousers with braces.

"I'm your friend, Tony." Said the man.

"But I don't know you." he said, the level of panic in his voice rising. He attempted to stand up but found he was strapped to the chair he was sat in and had some sort of helmet on his head. What was going on?

"Almost there." Said a voice to the side of him. Turning he saw a coloured man working away at a group of computers while behind him was stood Ianto.

"Ianto what's going on?" he asked with dire fear in voice. Ianto wasn't looking at him but instead at the American stood in front of him. Turning back he saw there was a woman with dark black hair stood next to the American.

"This is the part I hate." She said fiercely. "Before and after I can handle but I can't stand this."

"Then don't look." Said the American harshly. The woman glanced at him but moved away turning away Tony. What couldn't she stand?

"We're ready." Said the coloured boy.

"Please!" Tony pleaded. "What's going on?" his fear was growing and he didn't know how much more of this he could stand. He had a terrible feeling in the pit of his stomach that he was going to die. Then the American nodded.

Pain erupted in Tony's head and he clenched his teeth so as not to give his attackers the satisfaction of his cries of pain. It wasn't too bad and he could struggle through it. His would-be torturers obviously knew this because the coloured boy turned to the American who nodded so he started tapping at his keyboards.

Fresh pain, worse than before, more intense, went through his head and spread to the top of his back. He was unable to clench his teeth this time his mouth open in a silent scream. His fingers went white as he gripped the arms of the chair tightly.

"Who am I?" asked the American. "Tell me who I am."

"I-," Tony breathed in deep, "I don't know." The American turned to the coloured boy and nodded once again.

Moments later the pain increased again this time coursing through his entire torso. It began like a jolt of electricity and he flinched, his whole body going rigid. This time he wasn't able to force back the scream.

"Who am I?" the American yelled over the top of his screaming.

Tony couldn't answer no matter how much he tried. While he screamed at the pain and his torso twitched as it went through him, something in his brain sparked. It was weird and confusing and terrifying but it was as though something was starting to make sense but he wasn't sure what.

"Again." He heard the American say.

Then the pain increased again and he screamed louder. Tony was sure if something didn't stop this soon he was going to die here in this chair.

"What's my name?" yelled the American. God the pain! It was excruciating! Why was Jack doing this? Wait a minute!

"Jack!" he yelled through the pain. He couldn't see anymore, his vision blinded by the shocks.

"What's your wife's name?" Jack yelled. Tony didn't even pause before replying.

"Ella!" he shouted.

Moments later the pain swelled to twice the prior level. Tony couldn't take it anymore and started trying to get out of the chair. He was jerking against the restraints with all his strength but still they wouldn't budge.

"Stop it!" He cried. "STOP!"

"What's you wife's name?" Jack roared. "Who is you wife, Tony?"

"I'm not Tony!" he shrieked still struggling with the straps. That was the moment it all came to him. He wasn't Tony Charters, an office-worker struggling to get over the loss of his wife. That wasn't him at all.

"Then who are you?" Jack asked.

He'd been to many worlds; seen and done wondrous things; met beautiful people and ugly ones too. But who he really was he still couldn't remember. The pain was blocking it.

"Should we keep going?" another voice said rather regretfully. They weren't loud anymore and he realised he wasn't screaming; he was too tired to scream, reduced to weeping. Still he was struggling with the straps desperate for the pain to stop.

"No!" said a female voice. "We go any higher and we'll kill him." It was shrill and he could tell from her tone that she cared about him. He still didn't remember who he was but he knew this was not how people usually felt towards him.

"Please stop!" he wept. Ten seconds later the pain increased and his whole body began convulsing. His innards felt like they were bubbling and he felt his breathing stop and start several times as his limbs twitched and flinched uncontrollably.

"I said no!" the female voice yelled again.

"I didn't do anything!" something exploded to his left but he was becoming less aware of what was happening around him. "It's overloading!"

"Switch it off!" The American boomed, his voice loud, clear and commanding. "All of it! Switch it off now!"

Everything else that happened after that was a blur of noise and black for him. Slowly, he felt his consciousness drift away and he continued to struggle to remember who he was. But he did remember why they were doing this to him.

It was to save him.

* * *

Gwen sat in the conference room in the lower levels of the hub. Her chair was pulled up to the table and her face was in her hands.

This wasn't what she signed up for when she'd joined Torchwood. It was all she kept thinking. When she had this thought though she couldn't remember what exactly she'd expected from a job where you deal with alien creature and artefacts on a daily basis.

Tears stung her eyes. Never had she thought her job would boil down to this. She heard the door open but she didn't move or look up.

"Are you alright?" asked Mickey. "You left pretty quickly."

Looking up, Mickey had sat opposite her and was looking at her with concern. She sniffed and brushed her hair behind her ear before she spoke.

"I'm fine." She lied. "It's just…" her thought tailed off but Mickey nodded with agreement.

"Martha's taking a look at him now. John should be fine." She reassured Gwen. "A little fried but none the worse for wear."

"It's not that." Gwen shook her head. "When it comes to causing that bastard pain you'll find I'm often the first in line. I couldn't care less about John bloody Hart. It's when he's convinced he's Tony. It's like he's a completely different person."

She thought about the first time they'd given him false memories. It was six months ago now and they'd had to shove who he was, his memories and thoughts, everything he'd seen and all that he'd done right down until it was barely there anymore and that process hadn't been pretty either. Then they'd given him a name, a false history and fake set of memories before hiding him in Cardiff. Once a month they used the mind probe to bring John out. She'd asked Jack why they needed to do this but he'd not answered.

Mickey nodded again but said nothing. Sometimes it was better to say nothing. What was his Gran had always said?

Sometimes people communicate better when they don't talk.

Jack stood at the entrance to the autopsy room watching Martha running checks on the still form of John. Ianto was stood beside him looking down as well.

John was being monitored by a heart monitor and a couple of other machines which Jack had never bothered to learn the purpose of. Martha knew what they did and that's good enough for him. They were quite ingenious as you could set them to monitor a certain person.

Martha leaned in and placed her fingers on his neck looking for a pulse. As high-tech as some of the stuff here was she still felt better checking herself. It was there; weak and highly irregular but there was a heartbeat. She drew away from the table and glanced up at the boys as she peeled off her latex gloves.

"So," she said hesitantly, "do we know what happened?"

Ianto glanced to Jack who didn't take his eyes off John.

"He was deeper this time." He said. Ianto saw something flicker across his face; worry. "We had to go deeper than before; for the third time. The deepest we've ever gone using the mind probe. It overloaded and sped up; kept going."

"And that's not good." Ianto sighed as he realised what Jack was saying.

"How is he?"

Martha glanced at her patient. "Stupidly irregular heartbeat; uneven breathing, mainly shallow; barely any chest movement. The good news is there are no broken bones but he might have sprained his right wrist attempting to break free of the straps and possibly a few pulled muscles. I'm afraid I can't tell for sure until he's awake."

Jack nodded.

"Physically he should be fine, it's the psychological impact I'm worrying about."

"I think it's a little late to be worrying about his mentality." Ianto unsuccessfully muttered his breath.

"Seriously." Martha said sternly. "This sort of torture could be affecting him in ways we can't even begin to comprehend."

"It's for his own good." Jack said folding his arms.

"I know that!" she snapped. She took a deep breath to calm herself down. "And I'm sure John does too. But we don't know exactly how it works. All we know is what it does."

"So what exactly are you saying?" Ianto asked as he saw Jack's brow furrow.

"What we're doing…" Martha paused terrified of actually saying it, "…is killing him."

"Does John know?" Jack asked after a moments pause.

"He's the one who suggested this in the first place. I'm guessing he knew the risks."

The silence between them spoke volumes.

Ianto had never liked John. First he'd come along and tried to take Jack; then he'd tried to destroy Cardiff and inadvertently caused the deaths of Tosh and Owen; now he turns up and a psychotic woman is going to bring about the apocalypse. For all Ianto cared John could go lie in the street and get run over; but actually faced with the possibility of John's actual death he was seeing how human the man could be. Assuming he was aware that what they were doing was likely to kill him, he would rather die at their hands trying to hide than by this Nurlana. This thought sent a shiver down his spine.

Jack watched John's lifeless body. John was trouble; he always had been. Nothing good had happened before the time loop when they'd been together. He was like a magnet for bad situations. But each and every time he'd been faced with certain death or losing he'd laughed at it and scammed, lied and cheated his way out of it. He would do anything to win and preserve his life. But now he was willing to risk it, all of it, just to hide from this piece of his past.

Jack's stomach twisted. There was a time when he'd been like John. A coward who would do anything for self-preservation. But Jack had been lucky; he'd met the Doctor and Rose. They had treated him like a person and helped him realise he could do good things no matter what his past.

John had never had this; he'd turned up in Cardiff and was treated with suspicion. True that suspicion was well-founded but later John's fear and cowardice was used by Jack's own brother; John was manipulated because he thought no one cared about him.

Jack thought this and felt ashamed.

* * *

John's head was sore and his whole body ached. He tried to move one of his arms but a twinge in his wrist made him give up almost instantly. The smell of disinfectant lingered in the air and stung at his nostrils. Slowly he became aware of his body; he was laid flat on something cold, his shirt didn't cover all of his back and he could feel the cold spreading through his spine.

Soon he realised there were voices, two of them at least. One of them was unmistakably Jack and the other was the chocolate girl, Martha.

"I know that!" He heard Martha snap. "And I'm sure John does too. But we don't know exactly how it works. All we know is what it does."

Something went wrong. John's instinct told him that much.

"So what exactly are you saying?" said a third voice. Eye candy! John would have smiled but his face ached as well.

"What we're doing…" Martha's tone was sombre and her voice was shaky, "…is killing him."

John groaned inwardly. Something had definitely gone wrong. Martha had told him two days ago…no wait, two months ago that this hiding thing was putting an enormous strain on his body. He knew it as well. Each time he woke up it was harder to breathe, harder to move, harder to think. And worst of all it was getting harder to remember. Not the fake life, he never remembered that, but _his_ life, names, places, things. He remembered them all after a while but with each time it was becoming longer and longer before he remembered most of it.

He'd made Martha swear not to tell anyone, especially Jack, unless she was seriously worried for his health, as in his-life-is-in-serious-peril kinda worried. So now she was telling them, it couldn't be good news at all.

Feeling was beginning to come back into his arms. So, slowly and carefully, he raised his right arm. His wrist twinged and he gasped at the sudden pain.

"John!" he heard Jack say. He couldn't quite decipher the tone but there was a flurry of footsteps and he felt himself being lifted into a sitting position.

Remembering he could open his eyes, John did that and saw a blinding light.

"Ow." He said softly. His voice was rough as though he'd been screaming a lot. As his eyes adjusted he looked at his sides. At his left arm was Ianto and at his right, Jack. "All this fussing over me?" he joked, attempting a smile. "I feel so special."

"How do you feel?" asked Martha.

"Alive." He said. "Which, from the sound of your little conversation just now, I'm guessing is a good thing." Looking at Martha he saw worry flash across her face. "What?"

"You don't remember?" John waved his arm supports away and shakily stood up. He tested his sturdiness before letting go of the metal trolley-table thing he'd lain on.

"No." he said. "I don't think so." Thinking about it, he never remembered actually being whoever he was hiding as but he could usually remember the being woken up bit. He strained to remember. "That's weird." It was just a blank space. But there was the pain. Excruciatingly, agonisingly painful sharp explosion in his…

His legs gave way and his awareness was gone.

Next thing he knew he was being slapped on the side of the face. Opening his eyes he saw Jack was knelt over him, cradling his head and slapping his face while Martha was looking at him with concern and Ianto looked at him sternly from over Jack's shoulder.

He moved his hands up to swat Jack away and then used them to prop himself up into a sitting position.

"What happened?"

"You sort of just collapsed." Jack said and he looked to Martha who was already checking the machines which were monitoring John.

"Actually your eyes rolled back into your head and you collapsed into a heap. Literally." Explained Ianto. "You didn't fall forwards of backwards. Just down."

"What were you doing?" Jack asked as John stood himself up.

"I was trying to remember the, um, the wake up call and…" his voice trailed off. He didn't fancy collapsing again so soon after getting up. "What in the bleeding hell happened?"

"Everything spiked. Blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate but not brain activity." She stopped and looked over at John. He looked between her and the other two.

"So what did that do?"

"It went flat."

John choked. "What do you mean, went flat?"

"It was just for a second; barely even that." She was flustered, meaning that it was now worse than before.

"Martha!" Jack snapped. She gulped, looking like a scared little girl who'd been sent to the headmaster.

"John went brain-dead."

"What!" exclaimed John taking a step back. He bumped into someone and felt them grab him by the shoulders. Peering over his shoulder he saw it was Jack who wasn't looking at him but at Martha.

"Do we know what caused it?" asked Jack. Catching a glimpse of Ianto glaring at him, John pulled out of Jack's grip.

"I'd guess it was the months of having his psyche squished and his body electrocuted." Came a new voice. They all looked up to the entrance and saw Mel stood there, leaning on the bar. "Then again I'm not a doctor, am I?"

_Next: Special Visitor_


	14. Special Visitor

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any characters from Torchwood, no matter how much I wish that I did. None of them are mine but I love them all.

**Author's Notes: **Came up with this chapter over the course of a day. Decided to add it in last minute as I was thinking of scrapping it. Kept it in though and I'm glad. Hope you enjoy it. Short chapter I know but I felt it was very important to include this because I spent the time on it. Please read and review (more so than usual please). Enjoy.

**Chapter Fourteen: Special Visitor**

_**Earlier that day**_

Mel entered into the 'flat' and threw her keys on the low table by the door. Shutting it behind her she took the chips into the 'living room'.

It had been a living room to begin with but over the past six months she'd scavenged parts from scattered parts of alien debris; trailing the Torchwood if it was necessary and taking anything from the scene that would be of use.

Along every wall she'd set up monitors, scanners, tracers, shield generators all sorts of stuff and to make sure no one would see it she'd bought these old blackout curtains and, using a nail gun, secured them across the windows.

In the middle of it all she kept a spinny chair. It was most useful for it meant she could turn to look at any of the monitors without having to stand up all the time. Entering into the room though, she noticed there was somebody else already there, sat in the spinny chair looking around at everything.

"What the hell?" she said to the person. It wasn't loud. She only wanted to let them know she was there. Giving away the fact that she could beat them off might have prepared them for fighting back.

They turned round on the chair and she saw he was a man. Well to be more precise she saw he was _the_ man. Someone who had turned up several times since she had teleported away six months ago. He was infuriatingly enthusiastic about practically everything and had a habit of turning up when she didn't want to see him and when no one else was around. The fact that no one else saw him convinced her, if only for a short while, that this man was a hallucination which her brain had cooked up because she felt bad for running away. This had been disproved though when he'd actually affected other objects.

Each time she'd attempted to learn something about him, the conversation would flip round and he'd be checking up on her, seeing how she felt, what was she up to, did she want to talk. But in all the times she'd seen him it had never been in her own flat.

"Oh," he said running his hand through his spiky brown hair, "sorry, it's just wow!" he turned back to the main monitor. "This is amazing." He gasped and he put on a pair of glasses.

"What?" He turned to look at her before leaping out the seat and pointing at a sizable gyro on the right side of the room.

"Where did you get this?" he asked.

"A Prokkan spaceship." Mel said nonplussed. "It fell out the sky two months ago."

The man then ran to the other side of the room and pointed at a small black box she'd fixed to the wall.

"And this?"

"What?"

"This is a black box. Sends out a signal if a ship is in distress. Unless you reverse the wavelengths, stretch the frequency and invert the signal. Then it can hide, well," he said, pausing to run his hand through his hair again, "practically anything I suppose."

"And your point is?" The man paused and looked over at her in confusion.

"It's brilliant!" He was grinning. "All of it. I haven't seen anything with such precision and attention to detail before in my life. And from me that is saying something." He turned his attention to another monitor and seemed to study it in earnest. "I'm just trying to figure out what it's all for. Don't tell me." he pointed at her. "Never could stand teachers who gave out the answer before the students had figured it out." He lowered the finger and returned his concentration to the machines. "It's like when someone tells you the ending of the story. There's no point even trying if you know what's coming."

Mel looked at the man, the machines and sighed.

"I give up." She said. The man turned to her and frowned.

"Excuse me?"

"I give up." She repeated. "I don't know what you are. Or why you're here. I mean, you're humanoid but you're sure as hell not human."

The man's brow furrowed. He sat there looking at her for a while before he pointed at the chips in her hands.

"Are you going to eat those?" he asked taking off his glasses. "Never could resist a good chip or two."

"What are you?" Mel said again, getting frustrated. "Most of the time you're speaking nonsense but, for some unknown reason, I understand every single word of it." She threw the chips at him. "Tell me mystery man, are you going to tell me who you are today or are we gonna piss about a couple more times before I receive that obvious privilege?"

The man had deftly caught the chips but instead of eating them, he placed them on a small table which was scattered with old newspapers and a few pieces of paper which she'd made notes on. He looked at her silently before he replied.

"I'm here to help you." he moved over to the right hand side of the room and sat down before pointing at one of the monitors. "Now this one was pretty easy to figure out." he put his glasses on again. "You're tracking someone. I'm guessing using a DNA signature." He grinned. "Which is brilliant because it's undetectable. You can know everything about where they go and who they meet without even giving them a clue. And here," he clicked on a file and several images came up on the screen, "you're keeping an eye on their vitals." He removed his glasses and stared knowingly at her. "Now I wonder why you'd be doing that."

Mel wasn't surprised. In their previous meetings the man had shown an amazing array of knowledge and ability to notice things that other people don't. She was beginning to wonder if there was anything this man didn't know.

The man turned on the chair so that he was looking at the monitor on the left side of the room.

"This one is a bit trickier." His voice was calmer than before. "It's connected to the black box, that's easy enough but its purpose…" he tilted his head, "…that's a bit trickier."

Mel stood there, unmoving, silent, waiting for her 'visitor' to say something else because she really was too bored for talking or arguing or interrupting.

There was silence between them for at least five minutes; the only sound the hum of the machines as they worked away at their specific jobs.

"You've got this shield covering the whole of Cardiff." He sounded intrigued but there was an unmissable air of concern to his voice. He turned to her and she just nodded. "Why?"

"I have my reasons."

"Care to share them?"

"With a man who won't tell me who he is or why the hell he's following me everywhere?"

Suddenly a siren-like noise started and the monitor began to flash. Almost instantly it was gone. The man jumped back from the monitor in shock and stood up.

"Did I do that?" he said.

"It's the tracer." Mel ran over to the screen, knocked him out of the way and looked at the statistics flashing up before her. "Shit!"

"Language!" the man shouted at her.

"Oh shut up!" she pushed past him, shoving him just a bit harder than she needed to.

"Wait, what's going on?" the man obviously didn't like not knowing what was going on.

"Nothing. That's the problem."

"What d'you mean? Who's the tracer on?"

"My brother."

"You have a brother?" Mel glared at him. "And the sirens aren't good?"

"When are sirens ever good?" She rushed for the door. "I don't care who you are anymore but believe me this thing that's coming is way bigger than anything you could ever have come across before. When I get back I hope to find you gone." And she slammed the door behind her running off to the bay.

She'd hidden for long enough.

* * *

The man stood there for a while after she was gone; bewildered. That had been shorter than he'd anticipated. He'd hoped to talk longer about things but no one had told him that she had a brother.

'_She's a curious one that Mel.' _He thought. '_I guess she was right._'

From the few meetings they'd had, she'd seemed a bit rough around the edges but on the whole a very intriguing person; very knowledgeable and adventurous yet wary of the unknown. His mouth widened into a grin. He'd met too few people like that. It would be interesting to-

His train of thought was interrupted by the shrieking of more sirens and the monitor beneath the black box flashed. Looking at it, his mood soured.

'_Then again I might be a little too late.'_

_Next: Arrival_


End file.
